Of War and Wings
by AuthorJ
Summary: The survivors of a trio of worlds razed by the Burning Legion are thrown into Outland and Azeroth. With the only option left to them to adapt to the new worlds, they find themselves growing ever more entangled in their conflicts and mysteries.
1. Flight

**Of War and Wings**

**Chapter One**

**Flight**

The conference chambers were abuzz with activity, even as deep into the capital building of Serania as they were, and properly so. The three worlds of Viarde, Umbris and Lumerre were thrown into absolute chaos of a likes never seen before, even for these worlds which were consistently locked into the throes of war, and had been for the last several decades. It had come to be as a part of life after some time, and most of the people between the trio of worlds had come to accept this as a part of life. This situation, though, was unlike any ever faced in their recorded history. So desperate had their people become, they turned aside their differences as best they could, and they met to discuss their options.

"Direct attack has done nothing against them!" declared a middle-aged man garbed in blue and white robes, wisps of thinning blonde hair dangling over his forehead, glistening from the sweat gathering on his brow line. The debates on their situation were as heated as the packed chambers were, leaving him to abandon formality and wipe his head on his sleeve. His most prominent feature, as were those of his fellows on his side of the table, were a pair of white, feathery wings sported upon his back, flexing occasionally from frustration. "There must be another way to conquer these, these **monsters** that have slaughtered our people like cattle!"

"We probably have you damned Lumerrians to thank for that!" a man on the opposing side of the table erupted forth, garbed in a black and violet suit with brown hair fashioned back in short spikes jutting upwards towards the ceiling. He too bore wings, but in stark contrast of the other, these ones black and leathery, with dull, rounded protrusions of bone peeking from beneath the flesh at the joints. "If you hadn't dragged us into this damned war, all of our forces wouldn't have wasted their energies, arms and ammunitions against those men you so loosely call 'soldiers'!"

"Don't you dare start that nonsense with me, Umbrian scum!" the blonde retorted sharply, slamming a fist down on the table and glaring daggers at the other. "You self-righteous, all important shadow-dwelling freaks would fit right in the fold with those other creatures, their wings look so damned much like yours! I wouldn't be surprised if you brought this down on us!"

"You've got some nerve, you light-leeching feather duster! As many experiments with spells as your people do, you're probably the ones who drew this here! Those four-legged mutts seemed awfully fond of reducing your best spell weavers to withered husks!"

"Say that again, and I'll see to it that blasted legion has nothing to face from your people but corpses! You Cubi and your world have been a blemish on the evening skies of Lumerre for millennia, it'd be a welcome change to see your world wiped out!" the white-winged man erupted, his own fellows rising to their feet at his side, clearly in preparation for a fight.

"Ha! Any time, anywhere, 'Angel'! You haughty bastards going so far as to name yourselves and your people after things held holy in those ancient fairy tales you follow, you stuck up bastards deserve to go down under those monsters' boots!" At this point, the Cubi man's own people rose, each of them beginning to reinforce their own innate strengths, their Auras, and empower them, preparing for an all-out battle within the conference chambers as the Angels mimicked their actions. This would not come to pass, as the head of the third party, the wingless ones representing Viarde, rose, raising his hands and slamming them down onto the table, in turn causing the entire room to quake violently, however briefly, with a demonstration of his own aura.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!" the man, well into his years with graying hair falling over the sides of his face, roared, silencing the bickering and any other chatter, drawing all eyes to him as he glared furiously at the two parties. "You bicker incessantly as children over old grudges when the fate of our three worlds hangs in the balance! You should be ashamed of yourselves for being so selfish as to put your petty differences over the lives of billions! Sit down and be civil, or I will have you expelled from these chambers immediately and call upon your advisors, who I pray are gifted with more sense than any of you!" It was clear that both were rather offended by his remarks, speaking down to them and berating them as they would a child, but the ultimate truth held true, and judging by the equally obvious silence, he assumed that would be the end of the snide remarks that had been leading up to this over the past several hours. "Now..." he said, calming himself as he took his seat again, clasping his hands together on the conference table before him.

"Well, what else do you propose we do, Viardan?" the white-winged man remarked coldly, earning a sigh from the older one. "We've only won trivial battles, and a handful of those that actually mattered. Our greatest cities have been either evacuated or completely destroyed. I've heard even the dragons of your world have had trouble matching up with the raw brute strength of their larger soldiers, especially those four-legged, reptilian brutes. Humans, angels, cubi, dragons, none of us have had any great effect against them..."

The man nodded, his eyes shut tightly in thought. He seemed pensive, hesitant for a moment as all eyes remained upon him, expecting some great answer after his prior outburst demanding the silence of the quarrelling. What they got was absolutely not what they expected, as he spoke. "... They have sent delegates to us from their forces, bearing messages from their leaders..." he began, his voice now holding insecurity as he sighed heavily. "They call themselves the Burning Legion, and have given us an opportunity... to join them."

"What?!" erupted the cubi man, his black wings completely flaring out as he rose to his feet, paying no mind to his fellows who he mistakenly batted with them. "They attack us out of nowhere, leave thousands of our greatest soldiers dead and trampled into the ground alongside our cities, and then have the gall to extend an invitation to their ranks?!"

"The arrogance is astounding, but well placed." The blonde angel responded bitterly, a frustrated expression upon his face. "Our people wield the aura of Light, yours, cubi, the aura of Darkness, but there hasn't been a single significant dent in their forces, and they seem to do nothing more than feed off of our worlds and leave death in their wake…" His eyes turned to the older man, pointing directly at him. "Even yours, wielding four individual elements, they've done nothing to slow them on any great level, have they?"

A shake of his head admittance to the fact his fellow pointed out. "Fire is overwhelmed by their own, water does nothing to douse the green flames their own spell weavers can call on, the wind and its own capabilities are largely rendered useless against their heavily armored forces, and while the earth itself has great power, everywhere they have stepped foot, we lose the ability to manipulate that area they stood, as if it's simply died from the presence of their legion..."

"Even with all of this though, join them?!" the cubi snapped again, border-lining an absolutely irate glare. "You can't seriously tell me that you're considering this?!"

"I'm not pleased with the decision, but we may have no other choice at this point!" the human responded expediently to the other, casting him a glare that also bore a subtle quality of shame to it. "We've all said it; our forces are amounting to nothing in the face of this foe! As we sit here and delegate on what to do, they are slaughtered without mercy by the thousands each day! This can't just continue in this way, and we have no trump cards to play anymore!" The man sighed, rising from his seat and shutting his eyes. "Let's take a recess for now... we'll reconvene in two hours after we've had enough time to think about it when our heads are cleared..."

As this recess was called, and the representatives from each world began to exit the conference chambers, a tiny machine concealed in the corner of the room beheld each of their exits, noting gestures and the subtle motions of their lips as they spoke between each other. A glass eye focused particularly upon the heads of the groups who had done the most of the speaking, transmitting this information to a recipient far off from the capital building, from the city of Serania itself, to a small group watching and listening to it all play out, displayed upon a wall before them.

"So that's it then..." one young lady remarked, an almost crushed quality to her voice. "They're giving up..."

"Yeah..." a tall man responded solemnly. "They must be so desperate that they can't even see what this would mean..."

"What other options do we have?" another, younger man, followed up.

"... Escape." The young lady from before said simply.

"And how do you propose we do that...?"

"There've gotta be other worlds out there, right? Ones that they haven't reached, or are maybe even safe from them. Maybe-"

"You're off your nut, there's no way we can just find some other world out of the blue like that." The young man responded.

"Then what do you propose we do, just sit here and let them take us in chains?!" she snapped, silencing the others before she sighed. "Sorry... but..."

"No... No, you're right... We haven't got anything else to lose at this point." The young man responded. Silence dominated for a moment as the three of them eyed the others of their fold, each of them quieted by what they had heard, be it in fear,  
disbelief or rage. "Get your loved ones together and let them know guys... We've got no other choice; we're leaving these worlds behind."

* * *

The usual bustle of activity dominated Shattrath City, deep within the Terokkar Forest. Business and commerce continued on as ever amongst the folk of the upper and lower cities, the liveliness of city life knowing no discrimination, even between the Light-reverent Aldor and the arcane-adept Scryers, most passing each other within the sanctuary city with little more than a glare or upturned nose. Refugees and the poor dwelt in the lower city, be they victims of war, orphans, or simply those with no other place to go as often was the case. Even with their plight evident, it was a far cry from many of their previous situations, a place they could at the very least call home. If not for the presence of the Shattered Sun Offensive on the Terrace of Light, consistently training upon the upper levels of the city for the ongoing fight against the demonic presence of the Burning Legion that pervaded the world of Draenor, commonly known as the Outland, one would think it simply a picture of peace.

This peace was disturbed rather suddenly, as high above the city, the sound of thunder erupted through the air, an oddity, for even though clouds consistently hung over the city, there were no flashes of lightning to be seen anywhere to predate the eruption of sound. Many looked to those who spoke with the elements, the shamans that wandered the city, to see if a storm was coming, or even the druids themselves, known for calling down the force occasionally. Neither knew of any approaching storm, or calling of the elements to their service, which only served to alarm people that much more a moment later as a tear seemed to open up in the air above them, swirling with colors and hues of every kind imaginable. Mages of many seasons were immediately able to confirm it as a gateway, a portal, but to what, or from where, they couldn't say.

This had the Shattered Sun Offensive armed and at the ready. Spell casters and warriors lined up on the ground, surrounding the portal from below on all sides, as those who could take to the skies, be they by means of a spell or mount, closed in around it from above and below. If something was coming, and if it was malevolent, they would be at the ready to meet it head on. Commands and orders were issued in every direction, not one soldier left without orders, and even the Aldor and Scryers managed to set aside their disagreements with each other long enough to stand side-by-side in preparation to greet whatever may have entered their world.

Suddenly, the portal rippled. Something was happening, but what, no one could say until a dreadful thing happened. The portal exploded outward with a flow of bodies, strongly resembling the humans of Azeroth, some living, many otherwise. A familiar blast of green flame followed the wave of forms, which immediately threw those gathered in preparation into battle stances. Flames, ice, lightning and wind danced at the fingertips of dozens present as they prepared for an onslaught from an all-too familiar foe.

It was at this point, from the central building in the terrace, that an older man emerged, clutching a brilliantly glowing staff as white and blue robes with golden trim rippled with each step, turning his eyes up. Sniffing in irritation past a white mustache and beard that matched his head of short hair, he turned to gaze upon another, taller and far more muscular figure, clad from head to toe in golden and white armor. His steps came down in clopping sounds, appropriately matching the hooves he sported on what could only be described as equine legs. Pale purple skin, glowing blue eyes, a massive, crested forehead, and fleshy extensions both from his chin and the nape of his neck marked him clearly as one of the Draenei, and to this old man, an ally at arms. "Are you seeing what I am, general?" the older man asked, his voice betraying his visage to be at middle-aged, at best.

"I am, Khadgar, but I wish I were not." He said coldly, readying his weapons. "Has the Burning Legion become so emboldened that they would strike at the heart of our effort against them so brazenly?"

"It would seem that way at a glance, Tiras'alan... This portal, though, doesn't seem demonic in nature though. It seems-" he was cut off, watching as several more people now emerged from the portal, all of them human by definition of their appearance, something that left him aside himself in disbelief. Despite their appearances, their clothing was foreign to his home, Azeroth, and any culture he know from upon it, even those in the recently relocated city of Dalaran. One particular woman stood out as she plummeted towards the ground, garbed in brown pants, sandals and a white blouse with blonde hair stretching well past her knees and bangs framing her face as she gazed blankly through half-lidded brown eyes. She clutched something in her arms, something that was crying furiously, where was she was completely unconscious. At least, the mage hoped that's all she was. Acting upon reflex, he threw his arm out at the woman, a pulse of arcane energy flowing through it briefly, resonating with her body an instant later, and not a moment too soon, as a mere few feet off the ground, her descent dramatically slowed, leaving her to lie clutching a rustling cloth. He watched as the cloth was cast off, leaving a child with short, pale blonde hair and deep brown eyes shaking the woman, clearly upset and frightened as he cried out to her, seeming to beg her for some kind of a response.

A young man's voice erupted through the air as he shot out of the portal, commanding the archmage's attention as he hollered in a language he could not understand. In his hands he was clutching a tremendous sword similar to many of the ones he'd seen hundreds of passing warriors wield in size, although very different in make. It looked to be a broadsword, forged with its silver blade curving back, with a black handle sporting white wraps and a guard that seemed comprised of black and white tendrils. Brown hair was cinched back at the base of his neck in a ponytail, with brown eyes set forward to on his opponent. A brown leather glove with yellow runes of some kind or another clothed his left arm up to the elbow, the rest of his outfit clearly ill-suited for battle, a simple black shirt, blue pants and black boots. Following him from the portal was a doomguard, cackling as it drove him back through the air, using well its ability to fly over the sword-wielding teen's own lack of ability to, raising its own sword high over its head and swinging down. The teen blocked in time, avoiding a certainly fatal strike, but was driven to the ground, slamming into it and bouncing fiercely, hacking up some blood as he settled down. The demon, initially pleased with its actions, screeched in utter agony as it was hailed upon by flashes of light from all sides, acting paladins and priests present reducing it to little more than a scorched husk in a matter of seconds.

Another's voice came, bearing much more urgency and alarm to it. A man came slamming down onto the ground on his feet, stopping only briefly before he ran to the woman who had fallen to the ground with the child in her arms. He was tall, the same height of perhaps a short male or an average female night elf, but still quite large by human standards, with a powerful frame to match. With short, white spiked hair, and yellow eyes with pupils that Khadgar could have sworn he saw shaped into slits, he was definitely one to stand out amongst the crowd. His garb seemed more appropriate for the battlefield than the young man who had just been spiked to the ground by the now felled doomguard. Although simply dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, pants and leather boots, his shoulders were well-covered in rounded plate spaulders that stretched around the back of his neck, with pair of steel gauntlets that left all but his palm and fingers protected, but were sharpened to a razor point where they lined up with his knuckles. He clutched his weapon, a spear with several sharpened iron hooks on the head, each tipped with a dense black glass, obsidian, tightly in one hand as he knelt besides the woman, and lifted her upper body in his free arm, watching her for a moment as he listened to her breathing, this earning a great sigh of relief from him as the child now clutched onto him and sobbed into his side

The eyes of all present turned back to the portal, as more came out than ever, now some sporting what looked to be, if their eyes hadn't betrayed them, wings, some white and feathery as a dove's, and other's black and leathery, akin to a bat, or as the combatants present were ready to believe, the Burning Legion's troops. Still, it was their humanity that earned them their chance as they descended and fought in a spectacle that seemed to stun the gathered masses around before a voice finally tore through the air.

"What are you all waiting for?!" General Tiras'alan shouted, earning the eyes of those present. "Was the Shattered Sun Offensive trained to merely sit back and watch Sargeras' minions lay waste to the lives of others? Attack!"

* * *

And so they did as a massive battle ensued, in the middle of the sanctuary city of Shattrath. Spells, blades, blood and bodies marked the conflict, hundreds of warriors from the Shattered Sun Offensive, the Aldor, the Scryers and those who would associate themselves, willing warriors from all corners of Azeroth and the Outland who would stand and fight in the defense of their world. Alongside them, these newcomers, who seemed to flaunt abilities all their own. The winged ones seemed to work well, the white-winged humans' weaving light to their needs, although it seemed to lack the holy sting claimed by that of the priests and paladins. Those with the leathery black wings wielded darkness and shadows just as adeptly, however failed to match to the corrupting, destructive force of that belonging to the warlocks and death knights. From the array of surviving, wingless humans who poured forth from the portal, however disproportionately to their fallen brethren, they acted in the mannerisms of mages, druids and shamans, but not without their differences. Fire bent to their will, but only when a source to draw from was present. Water, steam and ice proved to be effective in slowing, sometimes slaying their foes, but with sources stretched thin between so many to wield it, its effectiveness was diminished compared to a mage's frost bolt. The earth rumbled and shook for many, this weapon proving to be the most effective as whole sections of the terrace rose in shapes, be they bullets, dolls acting in favor of their masters, or simply weapons drawn from the earth to combat the demonic presence with. Perhaps the closest kinship revolved around these foreigners' use of the wind, drawing ferocious gales that would barrel over any airborne opponent and even bring pause to one upon the solid ground long enough for a fatal blow to be struck. Lightning seemed to be of use to them as well, although where whole storms could be called by the druids, these humans could only summon one bolt at a time, although one or two seemed to achieve it in rapid succession.

It was ultimately the actions of one girl flying through the portal into Shattrath on some kind of metal disk that would end the flow of the battle. Clutching onto a pair of iron cables, she wrapped them tightly around her left arm, moving to one of the spires on the nearest building and wrapping herself around it as best she could, and pulling sharply, not without great pain as the cables cut deep into her flesh and left blood dripping down her arm. Some strange, mechanical frame was torn through the portal, before it suddenly fluctuated, rapidly surging and pulsing before imploding harmlessly upon itself, although severing half of the head of a felguard that had attempted entry into the world. This girl sported brown hair down to her waist with bangs cut in an arch that framed her face, and light brown eyes, and earrings in the shape of double-helixes dangling from their respective lobes, blue and black shoes, blue pants and a white shirt sporting some kind of domed, cloth shoulder accessories. She seemed to fade, her teeth grit in pain from the effort she exerted before her grip released, and she slipped off of the metal object she had been riding upon, rolling down the front of the roof and falling off, only to be caught in the arms of another woman dressed in blue, green and yellow pants, shirt, jacket and slippers, this one sporting black hair that reached as far as her mid-back. Emerald eyes sported a concerned gaze for a moment before the younger woman in her arms moved, turning up a smile and speaking something to her in their tongue, something that earned a much gentler smile from the other girl. She turned as another approached her, an older man, marked with tattoos set identically on his forehead as they were upon her own, three triangles, the outlying ones of the set a pale shade of green, the center one gray. A handful of others around bore the same feature and gathered around her, this seeming to mark them as a clan or family of sorts by the judgment of others.

Khadgar was left sighing as he beheld the activity surrounding the area, absent-mindedly reaching up and stroking his beard once or twice before muttering to himself. "I'm getting too old for this." a statement he couldn't help but grin to himself at as he recalled exactly why he looked the way he did in silence.

* * *

The newcomers, refugees as many in Shattrath were, were escorted into the central hall of Shattrath, where their physical wounds were tended to. Those emotional, though, would take more time to heal. Scores of dead were being cleaned up and given proper burials on the outside of the city, most those who had not even made it through the portal alive, the rest fallen in battle, casualties not only from the foreigners, but those whose world they had seemed to stumble upon in their attempt at escape. There were talks of individual blame, but most were quickly halted, as they were reminded of their own plight at the hands of the Burning Legion, and were urged to have sympathy on these newcomers, who seemed to bear no desire to see this fate befall others as it had them.

Khadgar approached one group towards the center of the chamber, comprised of the young man with the ponytail, whose sword had seemed to vanish sometime between the end of the battle and the current moment, the tall man and the woman who had fallen into their world unconscious with what he assumed was their child, as well the girl responsible for closing the portal and the black-haired woman who kept her company as she currently cried against her shoulder and embraced her tightly. The mage had noted another two with their group, the first a tan-fleshed young woman with snow white hair stretching just past her shoulders, her hands concealed in chain and plate mail gloves with the fingertips sharpened to be as claws, sulking her head in thought. The second, a woman with hair he assumed to be dyed, the top half a vibrant shade of pink, the bottom sky blue, cast a gaze of concern out from her green eyes to the formerly sword-bearing young man, who simply offered a soft smile and words of assurance in return. This group had been at the forefront of the fight for as long as they were each able, they would seem to be the ones to speak to regarding their situation.

"Your people have been through quite a trial coming here." He said, his words only earning a confused look from the group. Despite that, he continued. "Are you all alright?"

"Hold up just a sec..." the young man responded, his language now clear to Khadgar as he pointed to him. "Fifteen minutes ago I couldn't understand a thing any of you people were saying, now we're chatting like either one of us knows each others' local language like we have for years? What's going on?"

"It is a little odd..." the blonde, dressed now in robes donated to her by the Aldor to replace her scorched and bloodied clothes, said as she held her sleeping toddler in her lap, gently rocking his upper body back and forth.

"You would have A'dal to thank for that." Khadgar said, gesturing to the glowing, floating figure floating in the center of the chamber, its being comprised of an array of shapes and designs, but somehow was a living being no different than the rest of them. "At this moment, we communicate in much baser method than words. A'dal, I believe, is allowing us to communicate in a method similar to how he does with us, through the holy Light within each and every being. Of course, this will only work in Shattrath City, so until you learn one of the languages of our world, it's probably best for you all to stay here."

"Sounds too preachy..." he muttered in response, earning a sharp elbow from both the taller man and the woman with dyed hair, muttering an apology before he stood up, staring Khadgar straight in the face. "Anyhow... well, all things considered, I suppose we're doing alright. I was honestly hoping that we all would have made it through alright, not have those Burning-whatever guys snapping at our heels." He looked to the brown-haired girl, his expression growing sad in turn as he watched her continue to sob relentlessly against the shoulder of the black-haired woman. "We lost a lot of good friends..."

Khadgar nodded, looking to the girl in silence for a moment before his gaze returned to the young man. "It's to be expected in the war against the Burning Legion... They've devastated worlds for countless centuries and laid waste to everything in their path. Your people have our condolences."

"Nah, they're not 'my people', I'm one of them just the same..." he responded, pausing a moment before continuing, finally offering his hand out to the mage. "By the way, name's Toru Beraun. Sorry, the introduction kind of slipped my mind."

Khadgar grinned ever so slightly at how casually Toru introduced himself, reaching out and grasping his hand firmly. "I am Khadgar. Welcome to Shattrath City."

Introductions continued from there. The tall man had introduced himself as Juno Tirless, the captain of the guard in the hometown himself, Toru, and the blonde woman, his wife, originated from back on their home world. When probed regarding his strange eyes, he forthright admitted himself to be a dragon, and explained that there had been others in their home world of Viarde who chose either to live life in their natural form, or adopt a human shape and live amongst them. His reasons would wait for another time, as he introduced the blonde as his wife, Azalea, and their now sleeping child she cradled against herself, Elias.

The young lady with the dyed hair was Tetra Catori, apparently Toru's girlfriend of the last few years. Dressed in a long blue, flower-patterned skirt and a sleeveless white top, she briefly described and demonstrated that her own power was to create spheres of multi-colored light, completely harmless in nature, although she did joke about being something called the group's 'flashlight'.

After finally calming herself enough to speak, and being aided to stand by her friend, the brown-haired girl responsible for closing the portal introduced herself as Chloe Ridelva, Toru's sister, as well as a mechanic and engineer, something Khadgar hoped meant that her own foreign inventions weren't as apt to explode as a goblin or gnomish device. Her friend, Adira Lei, was a warrior from Viarde, and did so verify that all of the people with her bearing the same tattoo were from the same village, explaining it as a sign of social status given at birth. She was born to a commoner's family, and it seemed that her own family and several members of their village had survived, something she noted in a bittersweet tone, as almost all of the people from her village had come to seek haven from the Burning Legion through the portal, and most had lost their lives in the battle.

The final, silent and sullen member of the party simply introduced herself as Flare Brantley, seeming to just lack the overall will or desire to have words with anyone at the moment. Her dress consisted of a heavy, dark red, sleeveless coat that reached down to her ankles, a black short-sleeved shirt, black pants with extra slack that gathered down around her ankles, and red, orange and black shoes. She shortly turned away from the others and left the chamber to be alone.

The story following their arrival was simpler than one would have thought, once the finer details were cleared up. They came from a trio of worlds, each one that actually exuded auras from within that affected the inhabitants and their abilities from even before birth. Viarde, a world of the four elements of the wind, water, earth and fire, was the largest world and primary one of the group. The other two, Lumerre, the world of light, and Umbris, the world of darkness, were Viarde's moons. These were the worlds from which the winged folk originated from, the white, feathered ones from Lumerre, known as Angels, and the black, leathery-winged ones from Umbris, the Cubi. These were merely names, though, and there was nothing holy or unholy regarding their auras. They were simply a part of the worlds they were born into.

Lumerre and Umbris had apparently always been at war, at least as far as the current generation present was able to tell. For whatever petty reason they had, it showed as a handful of arguments had to be broken up surrounding them, a couple erupting into outright fights before they were separated by their own kin or the Shattered Sun Offensive. It was something they were simply accustomed to.

The Burning Legion, though, was not.

They apparently came without warning, at first striking out smaller villages or towns on each world, surveying the strengths of their average people to see what they would be up against. That was the belief, anyways. It wasn't long before this erupted into full-scale war that left no one unscathed. They fought long, and fought hard, each world with experience and confidence all its own. None of them stood a chance. Even when the worlds of light and darkness discarded, temporarily anyways, their differences and joined with Viarde in combat, the results were ultimately the same, total defeat.

With the politicians of their world having considered and ultimately decided to take the Legions' offer to join it, that left those with any fighting will left to stand on their own. They gathered in secret and modified technology and magic they already had use of to open gateways between their three worlds to seek another. Toru's sister, Chloe, and what she called her artificial intelligence unit, Nana, were a part of the team working on that project. It succeeded, and they gathered, but not without a tail of legionnaires behind them.

"... and after we opened the gateway, that's how we ended up here on... what was it again, Outland?"

Khadgar nodded in response, a thoughtful expression upon his face as he considered the story. Most would think such a thing farfetched, completely outlandish and downright ridiculous. Then again, Khadgar had seen much in his time, from his days as a student in Dalaran, to the events surrounding Medivh and Karazhan, and the end of the Second War and his stranding upon Outland for the next several years. Compared to much, this was still a bit odd, but not too far out there to be discredited. The archmage simply gazed over their group, and then those of their people in the rest of the chamber around them, before his eyes fell back upon his current guests. "Well, you aren't alone here in your plight. The Burning Legion has razed many worlds, and either recruited or completely annihilated almost all of their former inhabitants. That as many of you arrived safely as you did is nothing less than miraculous in itself. For the time being, you're welcome to stay in Shattrath. Unless you plan on going to another world, then I would recommend familiarizing yourselves with our languages and some of our customs so you can operate beyond A'dal's reach. For now, I've got other business to attend to. If there's anything you need, simply ask one of the others of the Shattered Sun Offensive, and they'll assist you." With a polite bow, Khadgar turned and then left, meeting with Tiras'alan by one of the doors. Clearly, they had matters to discuss.

That mattered little to Toru at the moment, who sat back down and sighed, leaning forward onto his legs and hanging his head. "We got lucky finding a place like this on such a pot shot... Still, I can't believe everything's gone..."

"I wish it were that easy." Juno muttered, reaching over and gently stroking the hair of his sleeping son in Azalea's arms. "But our people, they were willing to swear allegiance to the Burning Legion. They'll still be around..."

Toru nodded solemnly in response to that. It was true. At some point, it was very possible they could wind up fighting people they knew and cared about. Instead of focusing on that, though, he looked to Chloe, who was now sleeping soundly in Adira's arms, leaning against the older girl with a look that border-lined absolute despair. Turning his eyes now to the tattooed young woman holding his little sister, he spoke softly. "She alright...?"

Adira shook her head softly, looking down at Chloe as she gently stroked the top of her head. "It's her family... everyone made it through except Anderon. They... they found his corpse on the ground with a huge blade wound through his heart."

"Bad news on top of bad news..." Azalea muttered, hugging her son close and shutting her eyes as she thought of Chloe's adoptive father, whispering a short prayer to hope for his safe passing.

"Yeah..." Toru said with a sigh, watching as Juno rose and started off in the direction of a person with glowing white eyes, violet skin, and the longest set of ears he'd ever seen in his entire life that weren't perched atop a rabbit's skull. "Where're you off to, man?"

"I'm going to try and find someone to teach us whatever the local language is." He said, stopping and looking over his shoulder at the others. "It's been really tough on us recently... Especially with certain events surrounding our group, but we can't just be dead weight. I'm going to see if there isn't anyone willing to help the people from our worlds get settled in with the culture of this one."

Toru nodded in response, watching as Juno approached the figure and began to speak, now turning his eyes back to the floor in a contemplative silence, one quickly broken by Tetra.

"You look like you've got more on your mind than just what happened to Viarde..." she said, earning a weak grin from the young man she now moved to sit beside.

"Woman's intuition?"

"More like knowing my lover." She said with a gentle smile, although not straying from the subject. "What's on your mind?"

He could only pause for a moment, staring at her before he sighed heavily and looked forward, clasping his hands together and tapping his thumbs against each other idly. "I know we had the only portal out of our worlds... But I can't help but shake this feeling trouble came along with us."

"You mean them." She stated very matter-of-factly, earning a nod from Toru. "What makes you think that?"

"Call it a hunch... I don't know, just... Cygnus, Dirge and Desirei don't strike me as the type to die that easily... And I know Skye isn't."

"Let's be careful mentioning him around Flare." Azalea said, earning nods from the others. "She's had it hard enough since he betrayed us, trying to accept that fact. On top of everything else right now, it's probably just best if we don't talk about it too much."

"Yeah." Toru said, reaching into his shirt and drawing out a silver teardrop pendant hanging off of a leather string. "Still... I couldn't ever imagine them just going down to a bunch of foot soldiers like those..."

* * *

"Where in the hell are we?" grumbled a young man with a rough, almost certainly vicious voice. His hair was black, scraggily and unkempt, in some places spilling over his face where two of his most prominent features were; manic, almost insane looking violet eyes, and a self-inflicting horizontal scar just below them stretching over the bridge of his nose from the far corner of one eye to the other. A jacket, pants and boots made of heavy leather completed the whole of his outfit, the boots, currently stained and bloodied, sporting a pair of steel skull plates fastened onto their tips.

"We're working on figuring that out at the moment, Dirge." The only woman of their group remarked, with a head of fiery red hair that reached nearly to the floor, well kept and at the moment, splattered with blood. A sleek, black dress was the single piece of her attire as her bare feet shifted slightly on the carpet she was standing on, soggy with the blood of a creature that looked very much the part of a human to her, the difference in it lying in its formerly glowing green eyes and the long, pointed ears it sported. Lifting up one of her arms, she brought her lips to the edge of a long blade protruding from one of her dress' baggy sleeves, sucking some of the blood from it before both blades sharply retracted back within their sleeves. A low rumble of satisfaction, inhuman in nature, emerged from her throat before she smirked. "Their blood alone is saturated in magic..."

"Focus, Desirei." Another man spoke sharply, fingering through several dozens of books upon shelves lined up against the wall. "We're not here to find you a soul to feed off of, you won't require another for at least another decade or two with the one we gave you back on Lumerre. You did well in spying on Beraun's group and copying his sister's technology for the portal, but if we're to make a place for ourselves on this world, we need to learn about it, its language, and what we're up against here." He reached a hand up, brushing back what looked to be very prematurely gray hair, considering he barely looked to be at the end of his twenties. He dressed rather formally, garbed in a white dress shirt and heavy brown coat, black slacks and dress shoes. Pulling a scroll from the shelf, he unrolled it and scanned over the text before sighing, closing it and depositing it back on the shelf. "Fifteen-hundred years back on our world apparently amounts to nothing for even the simple dialects of another..."

"Yeah, right." Dirge scoffed, rearing back and kicking at the severed head of one of the slain in the room, sending it flying into a corner where it thudded to a stop against it and merely dropped down to the floor. "You slept your ass through one thousand, four hundred and eighty of them, Cygnus, and the only ones you were even conscious on up 'til three years ago you spent every waking moment studying up on 'culture'. Hack." His berating of the other man came to an immediate halt as a bolt of light fired past his nose, the searing heat of it alone leaving a burn on the tip of it as the bolt itself melted a rather large hole into the wall it had collided with.

"'Culture' includes spells, combat techniques and tactics. I'd recommend you remember that, mongrel." He said, his hand lifted towards the younger man, still glowing vibrantly before he lowered it to his side and allowed it to flicker out.

Another young man, a couple years more so than Dirge, sat on the edge of one of the tables in the room, his legs tucked up to his chest and his arms crossed over them. His skin was a deep tan shade, and his hair jet black, clustered and fashioned into drooping spikes. Eyes of the same color followed the scene as he sighed. A light jacket, dark blue in color, sat over a white shirt and stretched partly down over his black jeans. Tapping his blue, black and white shoes against the table, he was now deep in thought on many things that had come to pass as of late, and not just the abandonment of their home worlds. No, rather, it was this particular group he was with and the decisions he had made to come to be with them.

"Skye!" Desirei snapped, turning his head to the woman who he knew was just as much of a dragon in human guise as Juno was. "Get over here and help us!"

"I'm sixteen, two of you are older than dirt and Dirge is retarded. You're both on your own." If that was one thing he had retained unmarred through the years, it was his absolute bluntness, something that actually earned a mild smirk from Cygnus as he flipped the page of a tome while Dirge merely growled in his direction.

It was a cry in a tongue they were familiar with, but could not at all understand, that drew their eyes to the door. Guards had arrived, no doubt having been notified of some commotion. Their entrance hadn't exactly been silent, between the attacks they unleashed and the screaming of those now lying dead at their feet. The language they spoke came smoothly and quite gracefully off their lips, even in rage, but regardless of its sound, there was not a thing intelligible about it.

"Think they're mad?" Skye muttered, only to be answered as one, garbed in heavy robes and bearing a staff, threw her hand out and fired a bolt of ice at him. His reaction to it was well enough as he leapt back, just off the edge of the table, and kicked it up, allowing the furniture to intercept the blast as it was frozen completely solid on impact.

"That would be a 'yes'." Cygnus muttered, closing the tome and replacing it on the bookshelf with a sigh. "I suppose saying I wanted to avoid anymore unnecessary bloodshed at this stage would do us no good."

"You sayin' what I think?" Dirge asked, turning his head to Cygnus with a feral grin, only to earn a nod. He chuckled sinisterly, holding his left arm out to his side as the shadows in the room began to move, all stretching out and reaching up into the air towards his arm. They wrapped about it, lengthening well beyond his fingertips in a bizarre display that seemed to both fascinate and freeze their new opponents cold. This darkness continued to extend a good two and a half feet beyond his normal reach, finally ending in a four-fingered claw, with spikes jutting upwards out of the black extension upon his limb.

"Dirge, leave one of them alive." Desirei stated, something that earned a dismissive sniff she knew all too well from the shadow-user, her eyes narrowing into a glare fixed upon him. "That was **not** a request! If we're going to get anywhere on this world, I need to draw information out of someone, and if you kill everyone in sight then there won't **be** anyone to get it from!"

"FINE!" he hollered, thrusting the arm of darkness forward. It surged out, stretching out and expanding until it came upon the woman who had shot at Skye. It suddenly exploded outwards, now resembling something more akin to a net then a claw. With no time to react, she was ensnared completely, and swiftly pulled back as Dirge turned his body and slammed his encased victim brutally into a wall, demonstrating force enough that several loose baubles around the room they were in simply dropped to the floor from where they had been placed. The arm retracted immediately, leaving a now unconscious, and perhaps seriously injured, woman to collapse to the ground. "Ya happy now?!"

"Quite." Desirei said, rolling her eyes as she walked to the woman, kneeling before her and sitting her upright against the wall. "Go ahead, do what you want with the rest."

"Like I needed you to tell me!" he quickly retorted. Thrusting his claw out at them again, it extended and expanded once more, but this time, instead of exploding into a net, spears of shadows erupted forth, careening directly for the crowd of guards in the packed doorway.

Unlike before, surprise wasn't completely on Dirge's side. As it met with their group, the majority of guards leapt out of the way to safety. Those unfortunates who could or did not were skewered before their strange opponent cast his arm to the side, pitching their bodies off of the spikes, while simultaneously slamming into the row of guards, driving them to the ground before the arm retracted back to its original size. His technique was sloppy, but certainly effective.

With an animalistic howl, Dirge leapt forward, his claw reared back as he dove straight into the fray of battle. Slaughter, massacre and destruction, those were the top thrills he found in his life, and as he slammed the claw deeply into the chest of one of his opponents and expanded it, shattering his rib cage and shredding his internal organs from within, he cackled madly, tearing his hand free and turning to face his next opponent.

"If there is anything you've achieved I find remarkable within the last three years, Desirei, it's controlling that beast." Cygnus stated, content simply watching the battle.

"Because he knows that I brought him into this world from those other three souls making up his patchwork one, I can end him just as easily." She responded coolly as she bared one of the shoulders of the woman, placing her fingertip gently against it before she simply pushed it through her flesh, straight up to the knuckle. The intrusion was enough to elicit a sharp yelp of pain, even in her now waning unconscious state as Desirei withdrew her own, brought it to her own forehead and began to draw a series of runes upon it with the blood. Licking the finger clean with a long, serpentine tongue as she finished, she bit into the tip of it, drawing her own blood and repeating the runic symbols upon the other's forehead. Upon this, she swiftly drew her arm across her body the motion extending the blade on that arm from its holster beneath her sleeve, and slashed out to her side, cleaving the body of one of their warriors in half as it was flung at her. "Be careful where you're throwing those things, I'm working here!"

Dirge, ducking a slash from one of the swords the city guards bore, merely scoffed and lunged forward, his mouth opening wide as he clamped down on his opponent's throat, biting right through and tearing a rather large chunk out before raising one boot and slamming it into his abdomen, watching him reel back and collapse onto the floor, seeming to drown now within his own blood as he gasped for breath. Dirge spit the chunk from his mouth, flexing his claw in anticipation as he looked at the remaining five guards of the twelve that had come, noting how unnerved they were by his brutal display. "Blame these weaklings for getting in my way...!" he rasped, his breaths short and ragged as he lunged forth into the fray yet again.

_Strange..._ Cygnus thought to himself, cupping his chin in one hand as he watched Dirge fight. _He normally has far more stamina than this... _His eyes widened considerably at what he beheld next. Just as Dirge was lifting his weapon-like arm to block an attack from an oncoming slash from one of the remaining guards' blades, the arm flickered, and then, in a burst that stunned the blood thirsty young man in his tracks, vanished without a trace. He was wide open as the blade slashed down, tearing a shallow wound down from his right shoulder and all the way to the waist line of his clothes.

"Wh, what...?" Dirge managed to wheeze out, just in time to behold a much more deadly attack in the form of that same blade being thrust straight at his head. Surprise still had him from the disappearance of his primary killing tool, and he was able to register the tip of the sword mere inches from his head.

A figure then suddenly appeared before Dirge, slamming a rather large dagger against the sword and directing it away before spinning and slashing across the guard's chest with the blade sunk in all the way to the hilt. The guard erupted with a brief cry, quickly drowned out as blood poured from his mouth before he simply collapsed in a heap to the ground.

Dirge, his bearings gathered once more, only spared a glare to Cygnus' back. "I had it under control." He growled.

"Yes, I'm certain your plan was to catch the blade with that thick skull of yours." Cygnus muttered, reaching back with his free hand and roughly shoving Dirge, knocking him a few feet back before he fell. "I'm ending this." Grasping the dagger's handle with both hands, it began to glow, corresponding with two spots on his middle back that shone through even the fabric of his coat. The weapon in his hand seemed to extend only slightly at the blade, before growing an entirely new extension beneath it. As the glow faded, he was left clutching a dual-bladed weapon that looked very similar to the ones clutched by the warriors of the guards in general design. The most striking difference laid within the blades at either end, the first one a slightly longer version of the dagger he had used upon the first, the second a flamberge.

It seemed the guards were learning to work past the surprises these newcomers continued to present them with, as the remaining four charged all at once, their weapons raised and their gazes locked upon Cygnus as he raised his weapon up to shoulder level, clutching it tightly in his left hand. If sheer power was not an option against them, numbers would be their greatest chance.

"Fools." Cygnus muttered before sprinting directly into the fray, crossing the weapon over his body as it began to radiate a bizarre violet energy all about it. The instant he was upon his challengers, he seemed to vanish, leaving in his wake a brief fluctuation of the energy that had enveloped his weapon. He settled back down behind them, the same aura briefly appearing wrapped around his own frame before vanishing. As it did, the remaining four suddenly had wounds erupt forth with blood that they had not the instant before. One's head dropped, another's arm and weapon following before they all simply fell dead to the floor.

As his own weapon vanished, Cygnus seemed to shudder briefly before dropping forward, collapsing onto one knee and breathing heavily, gulping down air as he was now seeming to do his best to support himself. He noted Dirge's presence behind him, turning a weary, but serious as ever expression to the young man.

"So, whatever's going on is even effecting your aura." He said, the word in reference to the abilities everyone to one extent or another bore back upon the three worlds they hailed from.

"It would seem so..." he stated, taking a few deep breaths before rising to his feet, clearing some sweat from his brow upon his sleeve.

"What the hell is going on?"

"I'd like to know that much myself... I have a theory or two, but we'll need to see a few more things play out before anything can be called for certain." He turned away from Dirge, now approaching Desirei and once more stopping by her side, taking note that she was now actually pinning the woman down by her throat rather than simply looming over her. "I see our subject is awake."

"Yes, and she's a bit feisty." The woman garbed in black muttered, gazing at the carnage the two had wrought out the corners of her eyes before eying Dirge in particular. "Wait a moment and we'll patch you up."

"Whatever, just get on with it." Dirge muttered, seeming more concerned for his ruined jacket as he inspected it than the accompanying wound he sported.

Desirei shrugged softly, looking back down to the woman, speaking softly, but clearly flexing her authority in the matter as she gave a brief shove down on her throat. "I'm going to take my hand from your throat now, and you're going to answer my questions. If you don't, I'll put it back, and next time I'll let you suffocate. Do you understand?" A brief nod was all that she needed as she gradually rose her hand from her captive's throat, although placing it back firmly down on her chest to ensure she didn't have the luxury of movement. That same nod was also satisfactory in allowing her to know that the spell between the two of them, activated by the runes they shared in each others' blood, was working. Their communication, although still verbal to the others around them, was now more connected to their thoughts than the sounds coming from their mouths, a common spell used in wars past on Viarde to interrogate prisoners who spoke a completely different dialect. Reaching forth with her free hand, she brushed a few locks of shoulder length white-blonde hair out of her face, ensuring she had her attention as she continued. "Now, if you haven't guessed by now, we aren't from this world. First, where are we? What planet is this, and what city are we in now? Furthermore, exactly who and what are you and how many more are there of your kind?"

There was a pause, undoubtedly reluctance to surrender information so easily. This was remedied by a very sharp, very sudden push down upon her chest that drew a pained cry from her. As she looked to the red-haired woman's arm, she could have sworn she saw scales and claws for a few seconds, but merely dismissed such thoughts as delirium from taking such a strike as she had from the man with the black hair. Regardless of her personal feelings on the matter, one thing was for certain as she gazed out the corners of her eyes, noting the corpses of her compatriots. If she didn't cooperate, odds were very good they would go and find someone who would. Swallowing her pride as she looked back to the woman gazing down at her, she began to speak.

"This world is Azeroth." She said, not without some difficulty due to the weight on her chest. "Specifically, you're in the territory of my people, the Sin'dorei. This is our capital, Silvermoon City."

"Now we're off to a good start." Desirei said softly, lightly increasing the pressure upon her chest. "However, you still didn't tell me who **you** are."

"Ceremi Sunward." She responded without missing a step, doing her best to keep upon this woman's good side for the moment.

"Well then, Ceremi, what was that little display of yours earlier with that blast of ice, hm?"

"My spells. I am a mage, and I specialize in using frost-based magic."

"A mage, huh...?" Desirei seemed to take this under consideration, thinking for a moment or two before she continued. "I've seen your warriors, and now your spell weavers. Tell me, what things can your people do?" She was stopped as the gray-haired man next to her spoke to her, seeming to give her an order. The fact that Ceremi could not understand his words left her to believe she was under the effects of some spell, and she confirmed that much as she took the time to detect its source upon each of their foreheads, written in blood. There was no time for her to delve any further into what other consequences this spell may have had for her, as Desirei looked back to her.

"I'm afraid our time here's short. You see, we have to get out of this city before more of your allies come and make things even more hectic. However, it's not as simple as just letting you go and making a break for it. As I said, we're new to this world, and we'll need a tutor in its ways. You've been elected to play that role. You'll teach us the ways of this world, its language, everything we need to know to survive, whether you like it or not. Now then..." she said, grasping the elvish woman by her robes and pulling her up to her feet as she stood. "You wouldn't happen to know a way out of here that wouldn't involve cutting down everyone in our way, would you?" Taking note of the pause on the woman's features, Desirei sneered, pulling her sharply forward, so close their noses contacted, and for the first time, Ceremi took note of her eyes, as red as her hair, and serpentine in nature. "I expect honesty. If I think you're lying, we'll find someone more 'willing' to liberate information to us, and I promise you, we won't be as nice as we are with you right now."

Ceremi grit her teeth, finding herself caught in an inescapable corner. Shutting her eyes briefly as she clenched her fists at her sides, she sighed, her shoulders sulking in defeat. These people wouldn't joke about something like that. If she didn't cooperate, more unpleasant methods were undoubtedly going to be used on any successors to her ill-fated situation. For the time, she had no choice but to follow their orders.

"There is a way... I can teleport us out of the city to an outpost at the other end of the continent away from the city and my people..."

"That's a good girl." Desirei said in a condescending tone, smiling and cupping her chin in her free hand. "Be a dear then, will you?" Saying this, she stepped around her, releasing her chin, but keeping a firm grip upon the back of her neck.

Ceremi knew well Desirei was considering the chance she might try to teleport herself and leave them stranded. How much of her abilities she was familiar with, she couldn't say, but it was clear this woman wouldn't take any chances. She shut her eyes, taking a few deep breaths to center herself and her thoughts. She'd need to concentrate to keep from sending them all to their death via a mishap in the spell.

Raising her hands before her, she began to mutter softly, speaking words of magic and making gestures with her hands. A light blue glow lit around and between them as she continued on like this for a moment. Finally, in a final gesture, she thrust her hands out, causing the glow between them to flash and vanish. Before them, a much larger light appeared, materializing in the image of what looked to be a base camp of sorts set in a damp, muddy region. Gazing around, she could see that her word had been verified to them all.

"Skye, bind her arms and put her on a leash." Desirei ordered, looking to the boy with the short black hair who merely nodded. She watched quietly as he ran his hands over the jagged ice encasing the table, a blue glow surrounding them. Before her eyes, the ice melted, now left as a mass of water that, much to her surprise, still held its form around the table as the ice had. Making a gesture with one of the hands, a pair of water spheres separated from the mass, splashing over her hands and freezing on the outside, creating a thick shell. Within the shell was water which, although was terribly cold, posed no threat of deep freezing her fingers or hands. She found them being pulled behind her back by some invisible force, the one she assumed this boy wielded, as they connected and seemed to merge into a single bond.

This time, a thick strip of water shot out, quickly wrapping around her neck and solidifying into a frozen collar. Trailing from it was a thin strip of water, one he actually clutched onto even as the glow largely faded from his hands, leaving a trace luminescence spawning from the palm of his hand clutching the tether.

"You and I will go first, just to make sure everything's safe. Skye will know if something's wrong because I'll cut the tether, understand?"

She could only manage a nod, balling her fists up behind her back as she began to walk, Desirei now clutching into the collar about her neck and guiding her as if she were a dog. They entered the portal, and in that same instance, exited, stepping down on a damp stone floor. She noted a soft sigh from the woman behind her. She sounded almost pleased with the sensation upon her own bare feet. They now stood in the midst of a stone hut, two stories tall, facing at the door leading out to what was undoubtedly swamp land before them. They had safely arrived in Stonard, the Horde outpost in the Swamp of Sorrows.

"The Alliance!" a familiar voice rang through the air, turning Ceremi and her captor's heads to behold a black-haired woman of her race, standing aside a creature that looked the part of a human woman from the waist up, save the horns and wings she sported. From the waist down, she stepped forward on equine legs, a wiry tail whipping through the air as she snapped an actual whip between her hands.

Behind her were others, a male of the race with embers now dancing at his fingertips, and standing atop a platform at the end of a short, wooden staircase, two green men and one woman, Orcs, tremendous in size, with tusks stretching out from their bottom lips and pointing directly up towards the ceiling.

"You failed to mention a welcoming party." Desirei muttered in Ceremi's ear in a tone promising punishment. "And what is this of an 'alliance'...?"

"I'll have to explain it later..." she muttered back before looking to the black-haired woman with a pleading expression in her eyes. "Lady Cersei, please, stand down! I am Ceremi Sunward, a guard of Silvermoon City! You must not fight this woman, she is powerful, and has allies who are just as such!"

"So you escort them to our doorstep?!" she snapped, earning a flinch from her fellow Sin'dorei. "Have you no pride as a Blood Elf? Surrendering to one such as this and bending to her will like a slave? You certainly look the part at the moment, I must say though; I suppose that's accurate then."

"What is she saying?" Desirei muttered.

"Nothing of consequence to you at the moment..." Ceremi spoke just as softly, her gaze not at all leaving Cersei's own.

"It sounds like she wants a fight."

"She very well may if you don't let me speak." Ceremi returned without hesitation, now directing her full attention at Cersei. "Lady Cersei, you must take my word for this! Their group slaughtered an entire guard unit in Silvermoon City; there is no benefit or gain in starting a fight you can't hope to win!"

"You doubt my abilities now?!" Cersei snapped, slamming her hand down on the thick wooden table before her, a twisted grin coming over her lips. "Perhaps a demonstration of her power is in order then! If she can defeat my minion here, perhaps I'll **consider** standing down! However I can't speak for the Orcs, you see, they-" she stopped, watching as something suddenly lashed out and drew her minion across the table, forcing a shriek of terror from it.

This was something that frightened Ceremi for two different reasons. The first, striking fear into a Succubus, a demon summoned from the depths of the nether, was not something to be taken lightly. They delighted in infliction of pain unto others, and thusly knew how to take it. What was happening now though had been so frightening, it chilled both the demon and her to the bone. This was where the second part came into play. Wrapped around the Succubus' neck, leaving the creature clawing at it desperately and choking for air, was a tail. A long, scaly tail with a spear-barbed tip, black in color that traced right back up the back of Desirei's gown. Ceremi turned a now wide-eyed gaze to her captor's face, now shuddering in terror as she beheld fangs in the mouth of the grinning woman behind her, matching those serpentine eyes that seemed to flare with bloodlust.

"Y... you're a..."

"A dragon, dear." She stated, her voice reverberating through the chamber. With a sudden flick and squeeze of her tail, a loud snap was heard, and the creature within her extra limb's snare falling completely limp before it dropped in a heap on the ground, blood trickling from the corners of its mouth. "Seems you must be familiar with us if you recognize my traits, although I'm not wholly sure what significance they have in your world."

Ceremi shuddered at the thought of Desirei being a dragon, especially the color of the scales. This was not something to take lightly. Whatever world this woman was from, it may have meant something different, perhaps nothing at all, but a black dragon on Azeroth was something to be feared, and for good reason with the likes of Onyxia and Deathwing known to every living being on the planet. Doing her best to gather herself, she looked to Cersei, who seemed completely mortified. Those behind her seemed to have the color drained from their faces as well, any fight in them completely gone from the spectacle.

"Will... will you please stand down now...?" she choked out, earning nods from them all.

Desirei merely chuckled darkly as her tail disappeared beneath her gown and her features returned to their more human ones. "Good girl." She said softly. Turning around, she stuck her head through the portal for a moment before withdrawing it, only for her allies to step through after, Skye actually supporting Dirge as they walked. The dragoness nodded as she turned back to Ceremi, drumming her fingers lightly upon her collar. "Tell them that information of our presence here is not to leave this camp. We will require a place to stay, food, and peace as you teach us about this world in the days to come. In exchange for that, we won't raze this insignificant little dot on your world's map to a cinder, and when our business here is done and we're well taught about your world, we'll be on our way without a word or a drop of blood shed."

Ceremi nodded softly, looking apologetically to the others now as she began restating the demands they were presented with, word for word. As the words left her lips, and the four currently holding her own life and those of the others around in their hands spoke, she had to wonder if what she was doing was ultimately going to be the thing that preserved them, or that condemned them beyond saving.

* * *

I started this off as something for my guild on the Ravenholdt server, something fun to enjoy while I tinkered with my original characters in the process. There's more development going in upcoming chapters that'll help blend them into the world of Azeroth. Until then, hope you enjoy.


	2. Fading

**Of War and Wings**

**Chapter Two**

**Fading**

A month had seemed to pass within the blink of an eye for the refugees of the three worlds that were among the most recent of the Burning Legion's victims. Within the safety of the walls of Shattrath and the blessings of Khadgar and A'dal, they were given refuge and permitted the chances to begin rebuilding their lives. Few denied the offer, and those who did merely left the city respectfully, whatever their reasons.

The ones most dedicated and studious had, within the month's time, become fairly fluent in the two primary languages of the factions of the Alliance and the Horde. Although they flaunted no mastery as those born into the cultures that used them did, volunteers who had come to help tutor and understand their people now had aid in doing so some who had become more fluent in the language began to assist in the lessons of Common and Orcish.

"I'm telling you, I just don't get it." Toru muttered as in the tongue of their home world, holding a book scrawled with writings of the Common language in his hand, frowning in a spiteful manner at it. He looked down over the wall he was sitting on, gazing down at the activity in the lower city. Some beggars were getting into a fight over something or another, and it seemed there was division amongst the crown on those whose faint cheers reached up to his ears from the distance, and those who hurried to separate the parties.

"What's not to get?" Chloe muttered, flipping through one entitled 'Charge of the Dragonflights' in Common. She seemed taken by the story as she took a bite of bread, chewing at it for a moment and continuing to read before swallowing and looking to her older brother. "You got the words down, what don't you understand?"

"I dunno, I can't seem to get the hang of the sentences. It's like they talk backwards compared to us or something." He groaned, lying back onto the wall and looking up at the sky with a frown. "I always sucked at ancient languages in school back home, too..."

"So I'm guessing what this means is that mom and dad gave me the brains and you all the muscles." She said with a grin, quickly ducking the book as it was pitched at her.

"Shuddup."

"There you two are." The voice of Adira stated, touching down onto the wall after leaping up upon it. Crouching down beside Chloe, she leaned forward on her knees, eying each of them out the corners of her eyes. "Azalea's been looking for the both of you. Apparently you were supposed to help us study..." the black-haired warrior said, gently jabbing a finger into Chloe's shoulder before looking to Toru. "And you needed to."

"Don't remind me." The young man muttered in a sour tone, crossing his arms behind his head.

"You know that Juno's going to have it out with you if you're caught slacking again, Toru, and Tetra won't be happy." Adira said, earning a sigh from the young man as he propped himself up on his arms.

_Yeah, well I'm not exactly happy that I'm twenty and being re-introduced to school life._ He thought to himself. _Man, I know a lot of crap kept me from finishing, but I could function and hold a job back home at least._

"Toru's a wuss." Chloe said suddenly, earning a glare as Chloe popped the last of her bread into her mouth, smirking as she chewed and flipped another page.

"Beg your pardon, powerless?" he said, calling her simply for what she was. It was unusual back on their worlds to have someone with a very weak aura, usually caused by some kind of sickness or a soul that was too frail to work them, but Chloe was unique. She was not sick, and she was most definitely not frail, but beyond any logical reasoning even she could come up with, she simply didn't have an aura. If anything, save her technological advancements and clothes, she could have blended right in with the humans of this world.

"You heard me, big brother." She said with her mouth full, swallowing and then grinning smugly to him. "At this rate even little Elias is gonna whip you, and you're just afraid of being embarrassed."

"Screw you, I am not!" he snapped.

"Prove it." She said fluidly, leaving him paused for a moment before he grumbled, hopping up to his feet and walking around to the other side of her. Picking up the book he threw at her, he dusted it off and stared at the cover. He could make out the words; they were common in the language and stood out enough for him to take note easily. They were something to do with a tree of the world and some dream that had something to do with emeralds. Huffing, he turned and leapt off the wall, walking at a casual pace back towards the central building of the terrace of light, where all of their lessons had been taking place. _That sister of mine, I swear, sometimes she just lives to get under my skin.

* * *

  
_

"You probably could have done that without making him angry, you know." Adira stated, sitting right next to Chloe and smiling down at her. The younger lady simply grinned up to the older in response.

"Now what fun would there be in that?" she asked rather frankly, earning a slight giggle out of Adira. Pulling out a bookmark she'd made of just a few scraps of parchment lying around, she set it within the pages of the tome in her hands and closed it. As she laid the book down in her lap, she shut her eyes and leaned to the side, her weight gently falling against Adira's own as her head found a place against her shoulder.

"Have you been alright?" Adira asked, feeling a soft nod as she looked down below, noting the aftermath of some fight, and two groups gradually separating from each other as other people simply sifted through the wake of whatever havoc it must have brought.

"Mm, yeah..." Chloe said softly, inhaling deeply as she gripped the top cover of the book.

"I'm sorry you had to lose Anderon, Chloe..." Adira said solemnly. She noted that the other hand of the younger girl was out of sight, only to be found as the sensation of her gloved one brushing lightly against her own hit her, before she felt her grip and squeeze it softly. Adira turned her hand over, interlacing her fingers with the young mechanic's own and returning the gentle squeeze, shutting her eyes. "How have your brothers and sister been doing?"

"They've been alright..." she responded, her tone a little more quiet. "Jake's actually picked up the Common language faster than me. He's working on Orcish right now, in spite of that stupid Horde and Alliance stuff they've got going on. I've been helping out some of the goblins and gnomes around for some cash to pay for food, and he's taken the reins in the family since he's the oldest and been learning how to blacksmith..."

"You both really picked up after your father, hm?" she responded, looking down and blinking. In spite of Chloe's calm voice, she took note of the makings of tears in her eyes. Sighing, she turned to face the girl in full, still holding Chloe's one hand as the other pulled her into an embrace. Leaning down, she placed a kiss upon her forehead, speaking softly to her. "It's going to be alright..."

"... Yeah, I know..." Chloe responded softly, fully leaning into the embrace and burying her face into Adira's shoulder, hugging back with her one arm still clutching the book. They simply remained like that, holding one another for a moment or two before Chloe withdrew, sighing and drying her eyes upon the cuff of one of her gloves. "I, I'm alright now... We should probably get going back to the others before they get irritated."

Adira nodded, smiling softly as she stood, helping the other girl rise to her feet before wrapping an arm around her waist and leaping down with her off the wall. She released her as they settled on the solid ground again, and began walking with her close behind. It pained her to see the young lady she cared so deeply for hurting like she did, but if there was one thing she'd learned about Chloe in the four years they'd known one another, she had enough strong will to share. She would be alright, given due time.

* * *

"I thought that would never end." Toru muttered as he exited the terrace, clutching onto the same book as before as he dipped a hand into his pocket.

"Well at least they were able to help you understand things better, right?" Tetra said as she walked alongside him, smiling in a manner that seemed to warm his mood. She'd packed away her old clothes and was now dressed in a fine set of robes that bared her midriff, colored in an array of blues, violets and pinks with patterns that strongly resembled the designs seen on the clothes of the draenei walking around. Her boots and a hairclip in the shape of a Morning Glory flower were the only pieces of her original clothes she kept on. A slight grin pulled over her lips as she shut her eyes, holding her own book close to her chest. "Although as stubborn as you are, I feel bad for the tutors."

"Hey, hey, harsh." He said, although unable to restrain a smile as she turned suddenly, lifted up on her toes and planted a kiss on his lips.

"But true." She said, her tone playful as she turned around again and sighed quite contently. Things were starting to settle down for their people. The month had passed quickly for them all, and there was no doubt as to why. So much was left to be put in order. Accounting for those who did and did not make it, consoling and offering support to their families, introducing everyone to a new world, language, cultures, it was almost overwhelming. Fortunately, their hosts had been kind and generous. Sheer dumb luck had been their saving grace for the world they'd landed in, they very well could have been placed in, God forbid, the Burning Legion's home world. Instead, they wound up at the forefront of the effort against them.

_Khadgar, A'dal and the factions around here have helped us all so much, I don't know if we'll ever be able to repay their kindness..._ A smile crept across her lips as she stopped suddenly, turning her head over her shoulder and gazing at the pillar of light piercing high into the cloudy sky over Shattrath, generated by the one naaru within the chambers they'd just left. _The Light, huh...? It seems like something wondrous._

"Hey, Tetra, comin'?" Toru called out, hooking his thumb into one of his jean pockets.

"Ah, yeah, sorry about that." She said, gazing at the light just a few seconds longer before turning and walking back up alongside him. "So, we're starting to get the Common language down, what do you think we should do after that?"

"I dunno." He shrugged, beginning to descend a ramp into the lower city alongside her. "They said something about that other world, Azeroth, so I guess I want to check that out. But I haven't been very far outside of the city walls here either, so I want to see what this place is like, too."

Tetra nodded, offering a friendly smile to the battle masters of the Alliance, although they seemed pre-occupied debating strategy between each other. "I've heard a lot about the region neighboring the city to the southwest. Nagrand's supposed to be a very beautiful place, and I'd love to see it."

"Well, I'll just have to take you there sometime, won't I?" Toru said with a smile of his own, casting a warm gaze to the shorter girl.

Tetra, quite pleased with this, slipped one arm around his own and held onto it, leaning against him. "I'd love that." She continued like this as they walked for a moment, before a ruckus broke out in the air around them. Her head rose off of her love's shoulder and turned quickly, her eyes narrowing at the sight. An angel and cubi were starting a fight, and were doing a good job of attracting a crowd. "Those idiots..." she muttered. "They're probably still fighting over the same old thing..."

"Let 'em kill each other, two less morons for us to deal with down the road." Toru said with a shrug, only to earn a hard look from Tetra.

"Toru!" she snapped in the manner would when berating a child. It was something she'd been working on with him for some time. Toru made no claims to being a hero, although he had saved her life on two or three separate occasions, and he had no interest in being one either, especially not to the cubi or angels.

He simply sighed, handing his book to her and starting towards the fight. "I got it, I got it, I'll keep them from splattering their brains all over the grass."

* * *

_If I didn't love her so much I'd keep walking._ He thought to himself as he approached the two fighters. The Shattered Sun Offensive, although active in the lower city, didn't cover everything. It made sense; there were hundreds more down here than there were on the terrace of light, or in the Aldor or Scryers tiers. The Horde and Alliance separated their own people from each other because they either cared, or it was some peace treaty between two of the leaders of each faction that, in his opinion, wasn't doing a whole lot of good at the moment with how often he'd seen the fights break out. The angels and cubi, however, had been killing each other for hundreds of years, far longer than the twenty-some-odd that the Alliance and Horde had been at each other's throats. No, they'd let each other fight to the death for the most part, and claim glory for their own race for the victor.

"Hey, you two ass holes, break it up already." Toru said sharply. Naturally, there was no response. They were too involved in themselves to care about his presence. Of course, this was excuse enough for him to act. Kneeling down, he scooped a couple of fair-sized rocks off the ground, chunks of the shattered ground around them. Tossing them idly up and down in his hands for a moment, he suddenly reared back and threw them, slamming them dead into the sides of the two offenders' heads and knocking them right to the ground. "I said cut it out!" he hollered, watching as they clutched the points of impact in obvious pain.

"What business is it of yours?!" the cubi snapped first, sitting upright and still clutching what was now an open wound with blood trailing down his forehead.

"Back off, this has nothing to do with you!" the angel followed up.

_And through a mutual dislike of the middleman, they find a common ground. Wonderful._ He rolled his eyes at the thought, approaching the two before glaring down at them. "I don't boast the best people skills of anyone here, but our worlds have probably either been reduced to ash, or if they haven't, may as well be. Ya think maybe this is about the time you should stop focusing on the wings and more on the guys with the green fire coming out of their eyes?"

"The legion aren't in this city, but the damned cubi are!" the angel snapped, rising to his feet and glaring down at his opponent. "I don't know about you, but I think our more immediate threat is right here under our noses!"

"Sentiment's the same here, Lumerrian!" snapped the cubi, rising to his own feet before tackling the angel and rekindling the fighting.

Toru simply stood there, not at all amused and, quite frankly, getting very annoyed. He began to massage his sinuses in one hand, sighing for a moment as he considered his options while the two brawled at his side. It was about the time that he caught the sensation of a familiar power he actually became irate, watching as a beam of light shot past his face. "That cinches it." He muttered, holding his right arm out to his side as his own aura flared, violet, white and black in color. It gathered in his hand, lengthening and stretching until a solid silhouette was formed. In that next instant, he vanished, appearing standing in the same way over them before slamming the object in his hand down right between their faces, scarcely missing the tips of their noses. It was his sword, almost as tall as he was, the same one he'd used against the doomguard that had driven him through the portal into this world, and the one he hadn't called on since.

"Let me summarize this situation for you." He stated, now having their undivided attention as he glared at both of them. "Your fist fight was one thing. Now that you're **shooting** and endangering the lives of people like myself who quite frankly couldn't care less if you ripped each other's heads off, you've crossed a line. I'm going to say this once, and I'm going to be very. Frank. If you don't stop these moronics in the next five seconds, I'll kill you **both** and then-"

He paused there, blinking a moment as he looked to his sword. Something was wrong with it. It began to flicker oddly, growing transparent and solidifying in intervals for a moment before, in a flash, it simply disappeared from his grip. His eyes widened in disbelief. He'd never had something like this happen before so suddenly. His weapon was taxing to call upon as it was his strongest ability, but he always had at least a good five minutes with it, never before just one. He didn't find himself with time to dwell upon it, as the two he'd just threatened rose up before him, glaring darkly at him.

"What was that you were saying just now...?" the cubi hissed in his face.

"Oh, screw you." Toru said, reaching up and grasping them both by the hair at the base of their skulls. Pulling his arms back, he swung forward, slamming their heads together with a thud that echoed through the air before dropping them to the ground, completely unconscious. Dusting his hands off, he looked around, noting that many seemed confused by what had just happened. No surprised, not a word of what had all been said was in any language they would know, although gestures seemed to do a fair job of conveying some of it. "Sorry, idiots." He said in Common, thumbing to two lying in heaps on the ground. That seemed enough to earn dismissive shrugs or sarcastic remarks here and there, and it was enough of a note for him to return to Tetra on, who now bore an expression of obvious concern.

"Toru, what happened there?" she asked, clutching both of their books tightly to her chest.

"Twilight just vanished, that's what." He said, the name the one he'd given to his sword, not something uncommon to do for the type of weapon it was. Gazing to one of his empty hands, he thought in silence for a moment before looking back to Tetra. "Come on, we're going back to the terrace. Azalea should still be there, and with luck, Khepri is too. We need some answers."

* * *

"And you're saying it just vanished like that?" she asked, watching Toru nod in confirmation to her question. She sighed, running a hand through her short black hair, amber colored eyes skimming the floor before her behind her glasses in thought. Casual was the one word to describe her normally, as even the clothes she worked in consisted of a simple black and violet blouse with red poppy flower-patterns sewn into the collar, a pair of shredded jean shorts, black flip-flop sandals and an open, white lab coat. Her clothes had been ranked among the most unusual by the people who frequented Shattrath.

"It was like nothing I'd ever seen happen before, Ms. Rohn." Tetra stated, only to earn a hard look from the woman in name as she pointed to her.

"Tetra, I've told you a hundred times, you can call me Khepri. You're the only person who's ever insisted on using my last name." She sighed, frowning a little bit to herself. _Besides, it gets kind of annoying, being reminded I'm only a 'miss' all the time..._

Tetra only gave an awkward smile at the words. "S, sorry, mis-, er, Khepri... But the head cleric back in our city was pretty-"

"Don't give me that crap, Tetra. I'm no big city spell weaver like the snob you grew up with, I'm a girl from a backwoods town who just happens to be the best at what she does is all."

"Alongside being whiny, griping, egotistical and being generally short-tempered and scary..." Toru muttered, suddenly finding the woman up in his face with a grin that, quite frankly, scared him to death.

"Keep talking, Toru, and I'll see to it you never pull Twilight out again, clear?"

"Crystal." He responded stiffly.

"Good. Now that we're clear on that, show me your back."

Toru sighed, turning around and crouching down. Grasping the base of his shirt, he pulled it up, exposing his mid-back to the woman. Next, reaching into his shirt, he withdrew his pendant and pulled it off over his head, setting it down on the floor just before him. As he released the last bit of its leather thread, a symbol appeared on his back, a spell circle of sorts. Faded runes surrounded the border, with broken and scattered lines above them showing the placement of a former outer circle. Within the primary were two symbols; a cross, the primary symbol used in spell weaving of Lumerrian nature, and a five-pointed star, the Umbrian spell symbol. They were connected where the lower tip of the cross joined with the recessed point on the bottom of the star between two of its own tips. Toru normally kept this hidden, one of two reasons he wore the pendant he did at all times, as it acted to shield the spell from the eyes or detection of others.

"I never get used to your real aura, you know that?" Khepri stated as she knelt down, lightly running her fingertips over his back. "With that pendant's cloaking spell and those packed away, you read just like a Viardan."

"I prefer it that way, it makes me stand out a lot less." He muttered.

There was little else than silence from their group as Khepri worked, studying the spell with complete focus. A few passer-bys stopped momentarily, and they had certainly earned plenty of strange looks from the crowd, but they were ultimately left to their own business. That would come to an end though, as Khepri stood up with a sigh. "The spell's working just fine... So spread 'em."

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me..." Toru groaned, standing up and lowering his shirt as he donned his pendant once again. "I've gone a month without having to make a spectacle of myself with those damned things, do I really need to advertise this to an entire freakin' new world?"

"Fine, don't, keep letting Twilight flicker out like that for all I care and go get yourself killed. No skin off my nose." Khepri said this all in a disturbingly casual manner, her arms crossed and her eyes shut. A low grumble of irritation from Toru was the signal that she'd gotten what she wanted, a grin pulling over her lips as she looked to the young man. "I thought you'd see it my way."

"Cram it." He growled, plunging his hands into his jean pockets and shutting his eyes. It seemed nothing was happening initially, simply silence among their group. It was at that point a pair of bulges appeared at his lower back, growing rapidly to the point they distended his shirt before two slits in the back of it opened up. Lumps of flesh stretched peaked out just slightly before it seemed to pull back, revealing two different extensions reaching out and gaining shape gradually, a soft glow marking their emergence points from his flesh. The others had by now stepped back, and not without good reason as the two growths suddenly lashed out, expanding wide off his sides as they took their final shape. On his left side, a black, leathery wing, a cubi wing, and on the right, a white, feathered one, an angel wing.

"I hate bringing these things out, they make me an eyesore..." he muttered, noting several stares around the area fixed on him, many of them belonging to people who'd come from their world.

"Blame your parents then, they're the ones who decided they just **had** to have kids." Khepri stated, walking up to his expanded wings and running her hands gently over them, walking slowly from the tip of one to the other over the course of several minutes, which left the others to dissolve into idle chatter, save Toru who only stood still in irritation. Khepri finally sighed as she reached the end of his angelic wing, crossing her arms. "Alright, you can put them away now."

"Took long enough..." Toru muttered, his wings stretching out in full as they seemed to fluidly absorb into the slits in his shirt, losing shape and becoming resembling more of a type of energy rather than any solid matter. "So, what's the word?"

"I honestly can't say." Khepri responded, frustrated by the fact that an answer like this eluded her. "Your wings are fine so you shouldn't have a problem channeling light and darkness. That Chaos aura that holds Twilight together, though, has always been kind of a mystery... Hell, not even 'kind of', just outright. Are you sure it's got nothing to do with that? I mean, it's a merger of light and darkness auras, and if the notes your mother left of her pregnancy with you were any indication, even with you the merger of those two auras is an extremely delicate process..."

"I know what you're saying, Khepri, but it's nothing that's got to do with me." Toru insisted, turning to face the cleric with a stern expression. "I'll admit, that sword of mine and my abilities have been probably pretty off since I started using them three years ago, but I'm at least familiar enough to know this isn't just something like me running out of energy to sustain it or anything. It's like I just completely lost it..."

She could only narrow her eyes at that information, reaching up and cupping her chin as her index finger stroked just below her bottom lip. She'd never heard of anyone simply 'losing it' before where auras were concerned. _There's got to be more to this than just that. Even newborn infants have auras and very, very minor abilities with them in their fits. There's no reason for it to simply vanish._

"Khepri, if it helps..." the voice of Azalea chimed in, drawing the attention her attention to the young mother holding the hand of she and Juno's son. "I think I might know what Toru's talking about. Something sort of similar happened about a week ago..."

"Do tell..." Khepri muttered, clearly interested by this as she fully faced the blonde. This girl was talented with her own aura, and even more so with the spells she had personally taught her during time as her student. If anyone's input would be of great help here, it would be Azalea's.

"Well, Juno and I were playing with Elias in the lower city... I was giving him rides just off the ground on a few of the larger, loose pieces of rubble around like I used to back in Asile. A few minutes in, something strange happened. I just felt like I lost touch with my aura, and the rocks dropped." She paused there, seeming to take a deep breath as she recalled the event, looking with a soft smile up to Juno. "Juno managed to keep Elias from getting hurt, and I've been able to use my abilities since, but even so..."

"This is a problem..." Khepri muttered, immediately turning her gaze over the whole of the group. "Alright, listen. I want you guys to practice with your auras for the next couple days here and there, just do whatever, but nothing that could put yourself or others in danger with them. If any of you come up with anything that sounds similar to this, tell me as soon as you can, and in as much detail as possible. As for you, Azalea," she said, turning back to her former student, "I want you to do that and keep up with your spells. I'll be doing the same. I want to know for sure whether whatever's going on is going to affect out spell weaving too. We'll gather all the results in three days and see what comes of it, so until then, keep trying your abilities out where you see opportunities."

On this note, the group dispersed, leaving Khepri standing by herself, mulling over what Toru and Azalea respectively had told her. She ran several different possibilities through her mind, considering options and weighing factors of the information, from the minutest to the greatest details. Before she knew it, she was walking, and within a moment or two she stood at the center of the terrace. Turning her eyes up, she gazed curiously at A'dal, almost as if seeking an answer from him.

_You wouldn't know though, would you?_ She thought to herself. She turned her back to the naaru, sitting down on the steps of its platform and shutting her eyes. _Everything I think of comes back to this one point, but I can't verify it without more data. Still, if it does come down to that, then we won't be much different than any of the other humans from Azeroth.

* * *

  
_

Cygnus watched in silence as Skye and Dirge clashed in a training match outside of the outpost they had taken residence in over the past month. The two constantly struck, Skye lashing out using the natural waters in the area as a wide array of weapons and puppets, as Dirge simply charged, hacked and slashed his way through whatever opposition the young man threw at him. The fight, as always, ended with a decisive victory for Dirge, as he watched the manic killer drive his claw through the largest of Skye's constructs, an ice golem he'd been using for defense, and pinned him down against the muddy earth.

"You lose again, water boy." Dirge taunted as he leaned over the young man, his words earning a scowl.

"Bite me, dog breath." He snapped back.

"That's enough from both of you." Cygnus responded tiredly as he approached the two, grasping Dirge by the shoulder and hauling him off the youngest of their group. "Skye has improved through these matches, Dirge, he's learning to read you, not that there's much to it anyways."

"Yeah, knowing what I do means all of shit if he can't do anything about it though." Dirge responded smugly, watching Skye rise to his feet and beat his clothes clean with his hands.

"Wait long enough and I'll break you down to the spare crap that Desirei found floating around in that stupid chasm back on Viarde..." Skye muttered, earning a sharp glare from Dirge, at least before Cygnus' hand was thrust between them, signaling an end to their antics.

"That's enough, I said." He stated again, this time much more sternly. "The point of these exercises have been to study the reactions our auras have presented us with as of late. Skye, your aura fell out twice during the match, and Dirge's own five times. That's more than last week when it fell out once for you and three times for Dirge on average."

"Big deal." Dirge muttered, turning and walking back towards Stonard.

"You half-wit, don't you realize what he's saying?" Skye remarked, this earning another hard look from Dirge over his shoulder.

"What the hell do I care?! As long as I can kill Toru, quite frankly I wouldn't give a damn if we were staring down the apocalypse!"

"Wonderful sentiment considering we did about a month ago, but I'm afraid you miss the point entirely." Cygnus said with a sigh. A roar bellowed through the air, commanding his attention skywards as he looked up, beholding a black, red and white creature soaring over the treetops and veering to the south, towards the Blasted Lands, and seeming to clutch something within its claws. "It seems Desirei's returned with her prey. Let's go, you two."

* * *

Within fifteen minute's walk, the trio found themselves at the edge of the forest, and in sight of Desirei, although dressed differently than she was when she had left. In place of her black dress from before were black and golden robes with flared cuffs and slits in the sides, baring her hips partially to view. The golden on her abdomen and at the wrist cuffs formed into vague, skull-like figures with eyes of amethyst, and almost to even the surprise of Cygnus, she was wearing ankle-length black slippers. This was a woman who had walked through fire and hot coals barefooted before, crediting that largely to her draconic heritage's endurance. Behind her, three bodies were dragged through the dirt by ropes cinched around their waists; a human male dressed in shattered plate, a gnome male, crushed within its leather dress, and a female draenei, stripped down to her underclothes.

"Found something you liked off of that one, I see." Cygnus remarked, causing Desirei to smile wickedly.

"It is a bit loose, but I like the way it hangs off of me." The dragoness returned. "Besides, it allows room for my toys." She said, holding her free hand out as one of her short swords erupted from beneath the sleeve, retracting just as quickly.

"Very nice." Dirge stated with a sneer. "I'm supposing those chumps are the bounty you went after."

"That would be right." Desirei said, snapping the ropes forward and tossing their bodies between she and the three men. "Wanted for raiding Kargath in the Badlands to the north, five hundred gold per head. Found them in Stranglethorn Vale getting ready to attack Grom'gol Base Camp."

"Good." Cygnus stated, reaching down and grabbing the human male, throwing his corpse over his shoulder. "We should be able to pay off the rest of our stay here with that and have more than enough extra to spare."

"I don't get why the hell you insist on paying these people back." Dirge muttered, earning a frown from Desirei. "We're more powerful than them, we can make them give us whatever we want."

"We're guests in this world, you idiot." Cygnus said, nodding to Skye as he picked up the body of the gnome. "This is no different than it was on Viarde. Our campaign was to eliminate Lumerre and Umbris and allow Viarde to live in peace without the constant risk of being dragged into their selfish war. I'm not at all pleased with this 'Horde' and 'Alliance' nonsense, but I've heard they are unifying against greater evils such as the Burning Legion here, and a man known as the Lich King in Northrend. In light of the fact they can actually cooperate with each other unlike the cubi and angels, I will treat them with basic respects, and I expect the same of you. Now, let's retrieve our bounty and pay off the last of our debts."

"Still think this is retarded..." Dirge growled, jamming his hands into his pockets as he followed after them.

"Halt you four!" an authoritative voice called from behind, turning their heads to a group of outriders, bearing the tabard of Nethergarde Keep from the Blasted Lands. "What are you doing in these parts?!" he asked, his tone itself demanding answers.

_Fantastic..._ Cygnus thought as he eyed the others, speaking softly in their own language. "Let me handle this." He stated as he stepped forward, beginning to address the men in Common. "We're simple mercenaries doing our jobs, nothing of great concern."

"When you carry the corpses of a gnome, human and night elf, bound as they are, I believe it becomes of a great deal of concern."

"Aye, however these three lashed out at us and were determined to kill us. We didn't have time to ascertain a reason, so we defended ourselves. Probably madness or delirium, so we sought to bury them in the swamp where we could dig graves more easily than in the barren lands you ride from."

"That does not explain why they are bound as they are, or further more, why you carry the female naked." He said, gesturing to the night elf.

"As I stated, I believe they were mad. They attacked us with no warning, perhaps the influence of a demon that slipped through the Dark Portal, although I can say nothing for certain. It was my decision that they be brought here after they were slain, I couldn't in good conscience leave our fellows' bodies to be picked at by the buzzards, regardless of their actions. What would the Alliance be if we could not show such simple respect for the dead, after all?"

This seemed to leave the head rider at a loss for words for a moment. The silence pervaded the area for a short time before he finally nodded in understanding. "Understood. It is noble that you would keep an eye out for your fellows as this. I will pray that the Light guides their souls to rest in peace."

"As do I even now, sir. Thank you for your words."

The rider nodded, turning his horse about and giving the order for the rest to head out. He stayed behind just a moment longer, looking over his shoulder. "I would urge caution on your party. There have been sightings of one of the black dragonflight in this region. You'd do best to steer clear if you see it anywhere."

"I'll be certain to keep my eyes out. Thank you for the warning." He watched quietly as the outrider rode his steed off, waiting until he was out of earshot before he turned and started back towards Stonard.

"Well aren't you slick..." Dirge muttered.

"Shut up before I really do kill someone." He said flatly.

* * *

Ceremi sighed as she sat in her quarters in the outpost, running a hand through her hair in frustration. The group that had her currently locked in their thrall had secured an entire building to themselves, as was appropriate for the kind of lot they were. It was one thing to be stuck as their translator, that task was difficult enough. Teaching them though was something she had no experience in. She had one day expected to have apprentices in the arts of the arcane, but never something as simple as culture and language. _How troublesome…_ she thought to herself.

Another matter was the collar still around her neck, although ice had been long since replaced with metal, thorium in fact. Desirei had humored her at the very least by bejeweling it with rubies that matched her robes, so she at the very least didn't look like she was someone's slave, although the dragoness worded it as 'being under her employ'. She sighed, reaching up and idly tugging at the offending accessory. "At least they don't treat me like they treated the orcs after the Second War..."

"We could arrange that if you'd like."

Ceremi's eyes widened and her posture straightened rather suddenly, turning to the doorway and noting Desirei's presence. Behind her was the rest of the group, and in each of their hands a small bag jingling with coins, gold no doubt. _She must've just gotten back from that hunt she went on..._ "That's the last of your debts, I assume?"

"What's left over from them, actually." The dragoness returned, settling down on her bed across from Ceremi's with a sigh. "Never any shortage of a ruckus when I go out flying."

"The black dragonflight of Azeroth has done little more than induce terror to all they come across since the War of the Ancients, you shouldn't be surprised." Ceremi frowned at the smirk that Desirei gave her for that statement.

"I never said that I didn't enjoy it, I simply said they make a ruckus..." Her head turned to Cygnus as he took a seat, crossing one leg over the other as she leaned back on her arms. "Now you said you had something to speak to us about...?"

"I did." Cygnus said, waiting until Dirge and Skye had taken their seats before he continued. Of course, before he could, Ceremi rose from her own seat.

"Then I suppose I'll leave you to your-"

"Stay." Cygnus commanded sharply, earning a surprised look from the woman. "This involves you, so your presence here would be appreciated."

The blood elf was a little surprised by this. Other discussions they had, she'd been dismissed to do whatever she pleased in the time during. She couldn't fathom what they'd begin to want with her. Still, she wouldn't turn down the invitation, for any of several reasons, and took her place on her bed once more.

"As you're aware, over the last month there've been oddities surrounding our auras, since the first day we arrived here." Cygnus said, his tone calm and collected, but serious and leaving no room for jest. "Power fluctuations, strange behavior, misfires, and in some cases the loss of the ability to call on them at all for several moments. I've been studying all of us, through training matches and mediocre tasks performed with them, and I believe I've found out exactly what it is that's causing this."

"Well then tell us already, damn it!" Dirge demanded, earning a glare from Cygnus that quickly silenced him.

"To be frank, I believe we're losing the ability to access our auras all together." He noted the obvious alarm in the three, but didn't stop to wait for their reactions. "The incidents have only been growing more regular, and happening faster and for longer periods of time. I don't know when it may happen, if it does, but I think it's only a matter of time before we lose our abilities all together."

"You can't be serious!" Desirei snapped, sitting upright. "How will I manage if I have to go around in that clumsy, lumbering lizard form of mine? I'd rather die!"

"Don't be so dramatic." He said, chiding her like a child. "I'm not finished yet, anyways." He sighed, rising from his seat and muttering a few words. Out of nowhere, a white flame burst forth from his palm, with laces of red and black light swirling up around it. "I've been paying attention to other things, too. It seems that, for the most part, our spells remain intact. I assume it has to do with the arcane energies that course through this planet. Your spells, and your human shape, should be retained... However, this world does not have any kind of elemental aura. Similar concepts, but they are different sources of power ultimately. I think that's what's causing this. Without auras to sustain our abilities, in time, they'll be completely choked off and eliminated. Beyond physical things such as wings, or your true form, Desirei, there will be little difference between us and the beings of this world."

"Well that must thrill you at least." Skye remarked, his head resting in his hands. "Without Light or Darkness auras to push the change during conception, we're looking at the last generation of angels and cubi, and whatever the hell you call yourself, Toru and Chloe."

"Amians." He said. Ceremi couldn't help but notice a smile form on his face as he rose from his seat, walking to the only window in the dingy little room and gazing out it. "But you're right, Skye, it does please me. This nonsense will largely die out within the generation, and after that, whatever remains with the conflict should simply slip away. If there's any good to be taken from the destruction of our worlds, that would be it."

"I hate to interrupt the reminiscing..." Ceremi said dryly, earning the attention of the others in the room. "But I've yet to see exactly what any of this has to do with me."

"It has everything to do with you, Ms. Sunward." Cygnus responded, his smile faded back to a more reserved expression, eying her over his shoulder. "You're going to train that boy there in the arts of your class. You're going to teach him to become a mage."

A certain silence seemed to pervade the room for a moment, looks being exchanged all through out the room after this rather sudden an unexpected revelation. Ceremi and Skye exchanged looks, both of bewilderment and disbelief, before they shot up from their seats.

"WHAT?!" they both exclaimed, the silence thunderously breaking. Dirge had just fallen from his seat, cackling like a madman at the predicament. Desirei was simply stuck staring at the newly proclaimed student-teacher pair.

"Are... are you sure this is a good idea?" Desirei asked, turning her gaze over her shoulder to Cygnus. "I'm the most experienced here with spells, maybe I should be the one?"

"It's your experience with spells thus far that decided why I did **not** pick you, Desirei." He said. "If, say, our auras were to leave us this very instant, Dirge and I are physically capable of defending ourselves. Dirge is animalistic and brutal enough, and I have practiced several forms of self-defense. You are a powerful spellweaver, and that would make you the strongest of us until we found new ways to supplement strength." He turned, looking to Skye. "Skye, on the other hand, relies largely upon his aura, primarily in fact. He's a knowledgeable hunter, but he wouldn't stand a chance against any of the warriors from this base camp without his ability to manipulate water in all its forms. This is for his own good."

"But why me, why not train him as a warrior then, give him that 'physical prowess' you boast of?!" Ceremi snapped. She didn't really like Skye. Whenever he spoke, he mostly gave her smug, smart aleck remarks that did nothing but upset her. She saw him as a brat and little more.

"Because I recall the day of our meeting, you were flinging some rather impressive ice spells." Cygnus stated, grinning in a manner that drew a discomforted flinch from the mage. "Skye has a water aura from our world. I think being taught to wield ice spells would be appropriate for him."

_Mother was right, I should have followed the path of the fire mage..._ she thought bitterly, sitting down in defeat. "Fine, I concede. I'll start teaching him tomorrow."

"Great, spending all my time with Ms. Glows-In-The-Dark..." he muttered, the name he'd given her regarding her green glowing eyes.

"Skye, treat her with respect." Cygnus chided, as if talking to a child. "She's your teacher, and if I hear you're giving her too much trouble, I'll deal with you, understand?"

The young man only sighed, sinking back into his seat. "Yeah..."

"Good. As for the rest of us, we should study up more on the classes of warriors local to this world and see what best suits us. It shouldn't be too long until-" he blinked, seeming to have caught notice of something outside the window, something that concerned Ceremi as she rose to her feet yet again.

"What is it?" she asked, approaching the window, only to now catch bits of the sound herself. There were screams, explosions, battle cries and the distant clattering of metal against metal. There was no mistaking what she was hearing. It was battle, and if she could judge correctly, a sizeable one. Not wasting any time, she turned and started to the door. "We have to get out there." She stopped, feeling a hand clutch her shoulder. She turned, expecting to see Cygnus behind her, but was instead greeted with a rather serious look from Desirei.

"Don't just run out there. If it is a battle, you could wind up dead in an instant."

"Then what do you propose that I do?" she said, her irritation showing through in her voice.

"You're a mage, you should know about patience. Settle down, and let's see what we're up against." Desirei passed her after that, calmly approaching the door to their temporary home and easing it open. Ceremi, not wishing to be outdone on the world she was born on by a foreigner from who knew where, approached after her and peeked through with her.

It was a raid on the town, members of the Alliance races charging Stonard and locking themselves into battle with guard and civilian alike. It seemed to be a charge mostly led by human and dwarf, with traces of each of the other races laced into the crowds. They were merciless, and spared few, if any, lives.

"And these are the bastards who claim we're monsters..." Ceremi growled, clutching her fists tightly at her sides.

"Stay here for a minute." Desirei said, lightly pushing the blood elf out of the doorway and passing fully through it, shutting the door behind her.

Ceremi had no idea what the woman had planned, going out there alone. She did look the part of a human, so negotiation didn't seem out of the picture. Even so, Desirei had demonstrated thoroughly that she was cruel when she wanted to be. Dirge was the only one worse than her in the group, but by a much greater margin. "Are you sure this is wise?" she asked the others, not even looking back to them as she watched Desirei approach.

"Let Desirei do what she will." Cygnus said, approaching from behind. "If trouble escalates beyond her own handlings, we'll go out there next."

* * *

"Is there something that I can help you with?" Desirei asked loudly in Common, a part of the reason she went out. She and Cygnus were the only two of the group who had learned the tongue to any intelligible extent. It certainly worked, halting several of those on their rampage, although most merely continued on their way without so much as a second thought.

One of the party approached with a rather lecherous grin upon his lips, a dwarf dressed in black leathers, mounted on the back of a brown ram. He swung his legs over the side and dismounted, closing the gap between them on foot to a mere couple of feet. "Indeed there may be, lass." He said, the accent thick enough that she might compare this little thing to be vocally what the trolls were for the Horde. "What's a loveleh thing such's yerself doin' in a filth pit like this, eh? Captured passin' through th' woods?"

"I live here, thank you." She said, her tone flat and not at all by his words.

"Among these filtheh monsters? Ye must've had it hard, bein' forced to-"

"I **choose** to live here, and I believe you're trespassing."

These words seemed to take the dwarf by complete surprise, rendering him silent, much to her own personal delight. _Noisy little pest. To think there's supposed to be a city full of these things..._

"Modin, what's the hold up here?" a human on horseback asked, garbed in black, brown and red robes that looked positively wicked by nature. The voice even seemed slightly warped by a veil of darkness beneath that gave way to only glowing blue eyes, but it was predominantly male regardless.

"See fer yerself, Alex! We've a human lass here livin' among th' vermin in this Light-forsaken pit!"

The man seemed to take interest, trotting his mount forward just enough to come within arm's reach and lay a hand on her forehead, something that drew a visible scowl from her. It lasted only for a few seconds as he withdrew his hand.

"She is under no enchantment, perhaps she simply struck her head on something..."

"You, 'Alex'." Desirei said, her tone almost spiteful in nature now. "You wouldn't happen to be what's considered a warlock, would you?"

A soft chuckle came from the man's lips as he dismounted, standing tall and proud. "Allow me to demonstrate for you." Looking around for but a few seconds, his eyes fell upon a guard, locked in combat against a draenei warrior nearby. Holding his hand out towards the orc, he muttered but a few words, and watched as he burst into flames, screaming in agony and falling to the ground in an attempt to roll and put out the fire. It was only greeted with a swift death afterwards as the warrior brought down her greatsword and removed the guard's head.

Alex's attention then turned to the stable master of the inn nearby, pointing his hand out again, he muttered a longer incantation, drawing dark energies within the palm of his hand. It released a few seconds later into a bolt that impacted square into the other orc's chest, and killed him instantly.

His final demonstration was upon a paladin, fighting two of his allies at once with a clear, albeit minor, advantage, something that seemed to cause him to sniff in disapproval. "This is one of my favorites." He said, the very tone of his voice seeming wicked as he drew a black and violet staff off his back, shaped at the head akin to a rather large spear, and glowing softly with a violet light. He began to incant again, much faster this time as a bolt of green energy fired from his arm and into the paladin. The blood elf cringed horribly from the pain, his actions tremendously slowed, as he even seemed to age under its effects, allowing his opponents to descend and conquer by taking advantage of his sudden feebleness.

As the spell drew to a close, Alex sighed, seeming quite refreshed as he looked back to Desirei, just the air about him now radiating confidence and pride. "If that does not answer your question, then to put it simply, yes, I am a warlock."

"Blasted showoff." Modin grumbled, grasping the reins of his ram and leading it away.

"My, that was quite a show." Desirei said, her tone and expression having changed to ones of great interest, almost admiration. "You must have had an incredible teacher to come into the possession of such marvelous spells."

"Well, I'd like to think I've surpassed my old tutor." He said, not doing anything to hide his cockiness.

"Mm, well I've always had some interest in the dark arts myself..." she said, her tone seeming to become more sultry and seductive. She reached forward, lightly lying a hand against his chest and tracing her fingers gingerly in circles over the cloth, a material itself that seemed to even radiate darkness to the touch. "Perhaps you could inform me who your tutor was, so that maybe one day, I could become as magnificent a warlock as yourself?"

Alex seemed flustered by her contact with him, a little stunned at how forthcoming she was before he cleared his throat, recomposing himself and speaking again with the same confidence as before. "Well, if you really insist, milady, I suppose that I can indulge your curiosity. My tutor was Demisette Cloyde. You can find her beneath the Slaughtered Lamb tavern in Stormwind. Simply tell her that I sent you, that should suffice to grant you acceptance in their ranks."

"Oh, thank you, sir." Desirei said softly, stepping forward and lightly pressing herself against him, the hand on his chest moving towards his left side, as her free hand lightly gripped his shoulder. "Please, allow me to do something to show you my thanks."

Alex chuckled softly, reaching up with his gloved hand and lightly cupping her cheek. "If you insist, I'd be happy to-" he stopped there, rather suddenly and without warning, as if frozen statue still. His head lowered down slowly, looking to where the hand had been against his chest, and now seeing a blade embedded deep within, piercing his heart. "Y... you..."

"My thanks was that you won't die as painfully as the rest of your comrades." She said to him in a whisper, giving a sharp twist to the blade in his chest. Blood spewed from his mouth, splattering a little onto her face before she shoved him off her short sword, watching as his corpse hit the ground, pouring blood into the muddy earth. "Oh, and I'll be taking this lovely little artifact." She said, kneeling down and grasping his staff from his grip. "Seems like it served a worthless worm such as yourself well enough." She took the time to undo a belt clasp over his shoulder, pulling it off and shaking the mud off of it before donning it herself. It was loose, but the holster for the staff was well worth it.

"So that was what you came out here for." Cygnus said as he approached, some disapproval of her methods clear in his features.

"Sorry if you didn't like it, but I've at least found the class to supplement my aura when it fades." She said with a grin, her second short sword erupting from beneath the sleeve on her other arm. "Now, what do you say we rid the town of these vermin?"

Cygnus smirked, already clutching onto his dual-bladed sword. "Those who would persecute the innocent will receive no mercy."

"Spare us the self-righteous crap." Dirge said, his claw ready. "Just butcher 'em all!"

"An idiot's an idiot, and to an idiot a fight is a fight, even if it's not with Toru." Skye muttered, shouldering a massive hammer constructed of ice, sporting an array of lengthy, twisted spikes emerging from the head.

"Enough chatter." Ceremi said, cold mist pouring from her hands as they glowed with blue light, before thrusting both hands together and firing a bolt at the nearest invader, turning a hard look to the rest of the group. "I have no interest in seeing the Horde suffer this injustice while you simply talk! Fight!"

"Well said, Ceremi." Desirei responded with a chuckle, her eyes beginning to glow as she reared back on her legs and lunged into a sprint, the others dispersing to all sides behind her. "Well said!"

* * *

  
That's all I've got written up so far. The next chapters should be coming in the near future though, along with updates on my other stories and hopefully an end to Distant Shadows. It's great to be back, everyone.


	3. Decision

**Of War and Wings**

**Chapter Three**

**Decision**

It had been nearly three weeks since the disturbing news of vanishing auras and their abilities had reached Khepri's ears. In the week's time she had studied them and gathered reports not only from the group she had assigned to observe the oddities, but others who volunteered their own information, the spellweaving woman had come to the conclusion many others were beginning to come to. Their auras were fading, and it would only be a matter of time, no matter how long or brief, until they simply ceased to be altogether.

News of this had spread quickly through the community of Shattrath, reaching both the ears of their guests, the denizens of the city, and those who hailed from beyond its walls on the remnants of Draenor and into the cities of Azeroth. Certainly, this was no minor detail to just be ignored. Of the many who heard, a few knowledgeable souls had stepped forth, seeking to aide in preserving the waning powers. Whether out of the desire to aide them, earn compensation or simple curiosity, one thing was certain, it would be a long road.

Those who did not so avidly seek an answer to this dilemma, though, approached other courses of action. With so many still unsure of what to do with themselves after the loss of their home worlds, other concerns towered above them. There were families to feed, homes to establish, battles still being fought and sides being picked. Perhaps the most recent, and greatest development had been an issuing of sides for the respective races.

Humans had fallen in quite naturally with the Alliance. In spite of being denizens of a world where the Horde and Alliance conflict did not exist and they existed as a neutral party between a different conflict, the Horde had largely deemed the acceptance of any humans into their fold would upset the balance of their great faction, and leave far too many places in their defenses that could be extorted against those of the Alliance who would do them harm.

Following the humans to this side were the Umbrians, forsaking the racial name of the Cubi due to its closeness to a particular demon familiar warlocks were known to summon from time to time. It was a reception met with some reluctance, large in part due to their resemblance of that same Legion by nature of their wings. The some few-hundred of the dark-winged folk accounted for were left with little other option than to cope with this.

The Lumerrians boasted some greater numbers, nearly twice that of the Umbrians. In swift response to the welcoming of their old foes into the Alliance ranks, they bid for a place among the Horde, and were accepted under the condition that their wings under no circumstances be concealed. It was what set them apart from the humans rejected by the Horde, and with their waning abilities to control light in its many forms, would be what would safely grant them passage into their cities.

There were those uninterested with the conflict though, those who condemned their brothers and sisters for falling into the same folly they should have learned from after the savage destruction of their homes. Those who would respect the sides, but refuse to have any part in the conflict if they could avoid it. What they now sought instead of another reason to fight was a home.

* * *

"So you're going to Azeroth, huh?" Khepri asked as she gazed upon a small party comprised of Toru, Tetra, Juno and Flare. "You realize you're going to have to be really careful, since your auras could blink out on you at any second, right?"

"Yeah, haven't forgotten that pleasant little detail." Toru muttered, his thumbs hooked into his pant pockets.

"I'm surprised you're not taking the others with you." The black-haired woman chimed in out of the blue, a grin playing over her lips. "Chloe's going to be mad knowing you ditched her."

"She volunteered to stay behind, smart ass." Toru bit back in a tone lacking amusement. "She's been taking on the role of being the big sister in her family pretty heavily lately, and Mary's still having trouble learning Common. Adira's staying back to pitch in on the effort, too."

"Clearly the youngest child didn't inherit the family gene on brains..." Khepri muttered to herself. She turned her eyes to Juno, particularly curious about the absence of his wife at his side. "What about you and Azalea? I was hoping you'd be the knight for my student while she rounded up some of the spells of this world."

"One of us has to stay back and watch Elias, we don't have the leisure of baby sitters anymore, you know." Juno replied curtly, turning his eyes towards a series of portals behind him, sectioned off in an area marked by blue banners with the emblem of a yellow lion embroidered upon them. "This isn't a game and you know that. We've got the language down enough to communicate, so now we have to start carving a place out for ourselves. We can't just grub off of the kindness of the people of this city forever."

"Jeez, Mr. Serious, thanks for killing the mood." Khepri grumbled.

"Look, do you have anything useful to add to this, or are you just here to gawk and gripe?" Toru snapped, his patience with this woman clearly growing thin, something that only drew a broader smirk to her lips.

"You used to be so much fun as a kid, Toru, when did you stop appreciating my brand of fun?" She offered up a weak shrug as she approached, digging into a violet and golden bag hanging at her hip. "I actually do have something for you all." She said, her tone losing its playful quality as she withdrew a rather fat sack from the bag, bouncing it up and down in the air a couple times to demonstrate a jingling sound they'd all become quite familiar with.

"Khepri..." Tetra began, watching as she handed the bag off to Juno. "Just how much is in that bag...?"

"Abut four hundred gold." She said quite calmly. "A couple of mages from some group called the Kirin Tor came by and were very interested in some of the spells from our world, so I held a little auction and gave some of the lesser secrets to the highest bidders."

"You got this much off of chump spells?" Toru asked, leaning over the bag as Juno opened it.

"Aren't the Kirin Tor supposed to be really powerful though...?" Flare muttered, a clear look of disapproval on her face.

"Powerful, yes. Intelligent, definitely to work spells like that. But it's not like they know how they work. Hell, if they did they'd have called me out for fraud right at the start!"

"You're going to get yourself killed, and I'm not going to help you." Toru said sharply.

"They gotta know how to fight me first, and find me before that." She said with a confident grin. She certainly knew that in a fair fight, she'd be in trouble. But who in their right mind would fight fair with someone who wanted to kill them? That was her thought on the matter anyways.

"I've heard they can read minds..." Juno muttered dryly, words that urged Khepri to point to her own head with a grin.

"I've known people who could, I took precautions with a couple spells. Besides, like I **just** said, they'd have called me out." She waved that same hand dismissively at the group, settling a hand into her coat pocket. "Now, get going now, don't spend it all in one place, and bring me back some good notes!"

"I feel like I'm just a means to an end..." Toru muttered quite audibly, turning and stepping through one of the portals, one in particular that displayed a rather massive city, currently bathed in sunlight over the stone spires and rooftops.

"Fifteen years and you still haven't figured that out?" Juno responded before Toru slipped completely through the portal, waiting for the other two to enter before he followed in suit, vanishing from sight without a trace.

Khepri sighed a little bit, staring at the portal for a moment before turning and looking up to the naaru in the center of the building. Just looking to it after that admittance seemed a little embarrassing. The naaru were like holy figures, apparently a great subject of interest to followers of the Light, and apparently the closest thing to the actual source itself. A devout follower would no doubt feel some guilt in admitting things like that in ones presence.

_Then again, not like I've ever been one for faith anyways._ She thought dismissively, turning and walking away from the hall.

* * *

"Holy crap." Toru muttered, sitting on the floor and blinking in astonishment. It was his first ever trip through a portal like that, and it was something of a disorienting experience. There were similarities to the ones used to arrive back in Shattrath from Viarde, one already based off of technology they used to create gates to travel between worlds, but there were enough differences to throw him well off balance. He looked up to Juno, who seemed to have taken the arrival just fine, with a frown. "How is it you manage that...?"

"Dragons are magic resistant, remember?" he said calmly, currently steadying Tetra as she got her ground legs for it. "Just means that I have to focus harder to get through the portal, that's all."

"Where's Flare...?" she asked almost wearily, a little pale from the sudden transport.

"She ran outside to puke." The dragon responded bluntly.

Toru sighed, staggering to his feet as he laid a hand on his head. "I might join her in a minute." He muttered, looking back and forth between two identical portals. "Uh... which one?"

There was silence for a moment, a grace period in a way that gave he and Tetra the chance to fully regain their composure, before they watched a mage walk through one of them with others, clutching onto a book in one hand, and a loaf of bread in the other.

"That one." The three of them said at once.

It didn't take them more than a couple moments after that to descend the tower's spiraling ramp and find themselves situated in the middle of what looked to be a massive courtyard or a park of some kind. It couldn't be said for sure, but at the very least it was greener than any shopping district Toru had seen on any of the three worlds back home.

"So where do we start?" he asked.

"I think we should find Flare first, and then figure that out." Tetra said, her reminder earning a nod from Toru.

"Don't bother..." that same woman's voice stated from behind them, earning their gazes. She was clutching her head, certainly in still feeling the effects of that portal. "I'm never using one of those again..."

"So how do you intend to get back to Shattrath?" Toru asked with a feeble grin.

"I'll walk."

"Through space?"

"Then I won't go back." She said adamantly, earning a snicker of amusement from Toru.

"Enough fooling around." Juno said, starting off. "Come on, we need to find someone who can set is in the right direction. We'll split up and look through the city. Flare and I'll try and find the castle where the king should be, we'll request an audience. Toru, Tetra, you two get the lay of the land. If we're going to live in this world we're going to need to know where everything is."

"Fair enough, but why don't I go and see the king and you guys do the searching?" Toru asked, crossing his arms and setting an inquisitive gaze on his old friend.

"Because you're the most likely person to pick a fight with him if you get an answer you don't like." Juno said flatly, watching the Amian's face falter into a frown before he turned and started off, with Flare tailing close behind.

"I hate it when he's right with things like that..." Toru muttered sourly, starting off towards another path with Tetra at his side.

* * *

The exploration of the city of Stormwind was indeed task in itself. Broken up into six different districts, Toru and Tetra found much of the day spent exploring the Mage Quarter, Old Town and the Trade District. As busy as the latter of the three had become by mid-day, it was a struggle simply for them not to get separated from each other. Shops were marked by their importance, and the inn by the bank was made a point of special note, as they'd likely stay the night there with lack of better place to be. Perhaps the most jarring experience of the day was watching an attempt on someone's life, a gnomish engineer attacked out of nowhere by a figure dressed heavily in leathers and wielding daggers, a rogue. It was easily enough identifiable as a Blood Elf by the glowing green eyes, and it was struck down nearly as quickly as it had appeared.

Shortly after that bit of excitement, they had decided to take a break, and made for the northern exit of the district to the canals, a far less crowded and much more peaceful place overall.

"What a city." Tetra said, breathing out a sigh of relief as she glanced back over her shoulder towards the district. "It's almost like home in a lot of ways."

"I wouldn't compare the malls back home to that place, they seem more tame." Toru remarked with a smirk, walking up to the edge of the cobblestone road and looking down into the canal. "It's definitely different here..."

Tetra looked to Toru, a sympathetic expression on her face as she walked forward, coming up behind him and slipping her hands around his torso, hugging herself against his back and resting her head against him. She shut her eyes, feeling his hands settle over her own.

"It'll be alright." She said in a comforting tone. "We lost a lot, but... We're still alive, and so are many of our friends and family."

"Yeah, I know." Toru said with a sigh, gripping her hands more firmly. "It's just..."

"Hm...?"

"... It feels the same as when I was a kid..." he said, a deep hurt settled in his voice. "When Solear was attacked because Chloe and I were there, and..."

"And the Umbrians and Lumerrians killed your parents." Tetra said, feeling him tense a little against her. She slipped herself away from behind him and stepped around to his left side, taking his gloved hand into both her own and looking up to him with a solemn, but stern face. "I know... You and Chloe have lost a lot through your lives, and we all lost something, or someone, when the Legion attacked. But, you don't need to be scared... And don't blame yourself, alright?"

Toru couldn't help but crack a small smile, gripping one of her hands as he looked down to her, his expression more relaxed now as he turned and wrapped an arm around her, hugging her close. "Come on now, blame myself? What kind of idiot would I have to be to do that, huh?"

Tetra giggled softly at how he dismissed the idea, although knowing better. She loosed one hand from his and returned the embrace, holding it for a moment before stepping back, still holding his hand, and starting to lead him. "Come on, let's see the Cathedral Square." She said.

"Didn't take you as a churchy-type." Toru said with a grin, following her and walking up alongside her, the previous conversation already pushed behind them.

"You'd be surprised how many prayers I've said for you." She said as they crossed the bridge. "You picked a lot of fights up until this last year and all."

Toru offered a playful wince, looking off to the side with a chuckle. "I was kind of a jerk..."

"Was?" Tetra repeated with a playful grin, earning one from her lover.

"Don't get smart with me."

* * *

"Oh, wow..." Tetra breathed out as they entered the cathedral, taking in the splendor of the massive hall. Filled with light filtered in from the windows on all sides, and those devout in their faith, followers of what on Azeroth was commonly regarded as the Light, were scattered about, speaking amongst themselves, offering prayers or seeking advice from the priests and church-hands present. Tetra walked forward, looking positively absorbed by everything around.

"It's one hell of a church." Toru muttered, his hands in his pockets as he walked forward behind Tetra. Before either of them knew it, they were at the altar, stopped at the steps, but Tetra continued to look straight on in wonder, as if taken by something. Toru noticed this, reaching over and setting a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, what's up? You seem like you're spacing out a little..."

"I, I am?" Tetra stuttered, seeming to come around and looking to Toru with a light blush on her cheeks. "Sorry, just... I don't know, I felt this incredible peace here, and..."

"Pardon me, young lady." Another person addressed them from the side in Common, turning both Toru and Tetra's heads. Their attentions fell upon an older man with a white beard and mustache, dressed in golden and white robes, clutching onto a staff that bore an almost, if not, holy glow to it. "But I couldn't help but notice you seemed to have been rather taken by the Cathedral?"

Tetra smiled warmly to the man, nodding as she clutched her hands together at her waist, responding in well-polished Common. "Oh, definitely. The cathedral's beautiful, and so pleasant. And..."

"And?" the man continued, raising an eyebrow in interest as the girl turned her head to the table at the top of the steps.

"I... I don't quite know how to put it, but I feel like it's just... Right for me to be here. I've never felt so safe, so comfortable, even confident. It's like I'm empowered in a way." Tetra sighed, offering an awkward smile to the man. "I know it must sound silly..."

"Not at all." The man responded, his smile warm. "It sounds to me as though you've been rather taken by the Light."

"Here we go." Toru muttered dryly in their home language, earning a sharp elbow from Tetra that silenced him.

"Don't worry, young lady, I can understand the skepticism." The man reassured with a patient smile. "I'm the Archbishop of this cathedral, Benedictus. I've seen many come and go who both embrace and scoff at the Light, what the young man chooses to believe is his own choice."

"Look, I haven't got a problem with this Light thing you guys follow." Toru muttered, his expression stern. "Just you come off sounding like one of those door-to-door 'have you heard so-and-so' guys to me when you say things like that."

This seemed to earn a look of minor amusement from Benedictus as he nodded. "I understand, but that's not my intent. What the young lady..."

"Tetra, Tetra Catori." She said with a smile, offering a polite bow after her introduction.

Benedictus smiled warmly to her before looking back to Toru, the expression still the same. "What the young lady chooses to believe is of her own will, but if neither of you have any objections, I would answer any questions she has about the Light and our faith. Does that seem fair to you, son?"

Toru sighed, as if defeated, and turned, taking a seat on the steps and waving a hand as if gesturing for them to continue. Tetra beamed visibly as she saw this, something that drew a light smile to his lips as she turned back to face the Archbishop.

"Well, I've heard much about the Light since we arrived from our home world..." She noted Benedictus' odd look, smiling awkwardly in response. "Toru and I were part of the group that came to Shattrath a couple of months ago, we've been learning a lot since we arrived. But, I've really been taken by the concept of the Light ever since Khadgar first told us about it. I even sat in on some of the sermons they'd have in the terrace. What I've heard is incredible, it really is... Just..."

"'Just'...?" Benedictus repeated, staring inquisitively at her as she turned her head and looked up to the windows.

"... I... This may be forward, especially since I don't know much at all about your world or customs, but..." She took a breath, steeling her nerve and looking the Archbishop straight in the eyes. "I don't want to be just a follower... If you'd let me, I want to train as a priest."

The forwardness of this statement seemed to almost knock Toru over as his arm, propped up on his leg and supporting his chin, suddenly slipped off and caused him to tip forward on the step. He looked to Tetra wide-eyed, rising to his feet swiftly. "Tetra, you... Tetra, you know priests here don't just sit around in the church all the time, right?"

Tetra looked to Toru, offering a firm nod, with a resolute expression on her face. "I do, but that's just it." She lowered her head, clenching her fists lightly at her sides. "Ever since I became a part of your group, I've only been able to do so much because I couldn't do anything of great effect for any length of time with my aura. Even that boost to your sword can only last a minute, and now that we're losing ours..." She looked back up to him, the determination in her eyes unwavering. "With the Burning Legion doing so much, and already waging war here, I don't just want to sit on the side and be the one who has to be protected. I want to help, but I feel so powerless on my own. I know I'm no good at hand-to-hand combat, and certainly not much of a fighter with my own abilities, but if I can protect you guys, if I can heal your wounds, then maybe..."

Toru was silent, even as Tetra trailed off there. He recognized that look all too well, not from familiarity on her face, but something he'd seen many times in his own in the past. He sighed, hooking the thumb of his right hand into his pocket as he looked to Benedictus, who seemed to be quite intrigued as to what his own response to this would be. "... So, can you help the lady?"

Tetra's eyes widened a little, looking up and at the Amian. "Toru, you... I thought you'd be-"

"Against it?" Toru said, offering her a light smile. "Granted, I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of you of all people being on the battlefield... But I'm not going to stop you, you've given this a lot of thought, I can see." He looked back to Benedictus, making a gesture to Tetra with his free hand. "So?"

The older man simply chuckled, walking forward and laying a hand on Tetra's shoulder. "You have a strong will, young lady, and it doesn't take more than someone with eyes to see your sincerity on the matter. If you're really serious, then I suppose we can arrange something. However, your training will not be child's play, and if you insist upon being a priestess on the field of combat, you'll be lying your life in harm's way. Are you truly prepared for that?"

Tetra smiled broadly, offering a sure nod. "I am. If it means being able to help those close to me, I really am." She blinked, hearing slow clapping off to her side, a strange gesture in a church. She turned her head with the archbishop and her boyfriend, only she and Toru's eyes widening at the sight of the gray-haired man, gazing at them through violet eyes, with an all-too familiar redhead following close behind, dressed in black robes and clutching a rather wicked looking staff. "Cygnus...!"

* * *

"I'm quite impressed with your resolve, Ms. Catori." Cygnus said as he approached with Desirei close behind him, his hands dropping to their sides as he stopped a few feet from the trio. "It's admirable that you would want to place yourself in such a position, that's not an easy decision for anyone to make." He fell silent, watching as Toru stepped forward, his weapon, Twilight, appearing in a flash in his one hand as he swung it out, pointing it at Cygnus, and falling short little more than a few inches from him.

"You son of a bitch, you ought've just stayed back on Viarde..." Toru hissed bitterly. "After all the shit you've done you've got a lot of nerve showing your face. I oughtta-" He was stopped short as a staff came down and forced his sword to the ground. Tracing it back to its owner, he found himself staring at a rather stern looking Benedictus.

"Young man, I don't know what business is between you and this man right here, however I will not permit combat in the cathedral. Dismiss your weapon, or I'll ask you to leave. Do you understand?"

Cygnus watched as Toru almost glared at Benedictus before nodding in compliance and sending his weapon away in the same manner it came. "If you're quite done, Toru, then I'm here on business of my own. This meeting was simple chance. I have no quarrel with your group anymore."

"Bull!" Toru snapped, swinging an arm out to his side. "You were looking to blow Lumerre and Umbris out of the damned sky before the Legion came, and your token tramp there made off with my friend's little brother after feeding him even MORE bull! Give me one good reason I shouldn't break your damned nose right now!"

"Better yet, I'll give you two." Cygnus said, frowning at the other Amian. "For one, we're in a cathedral, and if you weren't paying attention to the words of the archbishop, there will be no fighting in here. If you're so sore then I'll fight you outside, though the outcome will be the same as it ever was, and you'll limp home tonight." Cygnus sighed after that, looking to the archbishop. "On the second matter, however, I'm here on business of my own. If I may have a moment of your time, father..."

Benedictus nodded, turning to look to Cygnus. "You may. What is it I can help you with?"

"I am from the same world as these two you have been speaking with, and, quite like the young lady, have a strong interest in the Light and the concepts it teaches. I've been researching as long as I've been able to, and find its core values to be in line with my own. I'll spare you any lengthy talk of revelations, however, and come straight to the point. If you would have me, I would wish to train as a paladin for the Light."

"You've gotta be kidding." Toru growled, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. "You were willing to blow two worlds out of the damned sky, and you want to work for something like a church? Did getting your ass kicked by the Legion cross your wires upstairs or something?"

Cygnus offered a firmer gaze to Toru now, bordering a glare as he stepped forward. "You fail to note that these two worlds had been at each others throats for well over a thousand years, fighting so long that they forgot their own purposes and did it solely for glory. Two worlds that, might I add, only collaborated when you were born to erase from existence any evidence of yours or your sister's, and only succeeded at eliminating your parents and the entire town you were in. Or did the retro-cognitive reading I did on you upon our meeting show me something else?" Judging by how Toru seemed to silently seethe, Cygnus knew he had Toru in a way he couldn't argue out. "Two worlds that didn't care about anyone but themselves, and would just as soon have pounced on Viarde for the chance to add them to their military might. My methods may not have been the best, I will be the first to admit, but I would not simply stand by and watch as corrupted fools threaten the lives of all those around in the name of things as vain and whimsical as 'glory' and being the superior race. You'd do best to remember that. I am no messiah, I am no harbinger of justice and redemption and I am certainly no god, but I do, for however much longer it remains, have power and intend to use it to right around me what I perceive and **know** is wrong."

"And is this why you wish to become a paladin, for further power?" Benedictus said, some scrutiny in his tone and voice.

"Yes and no." Cygnus responded, turning to face the old priest. "It is true, I seek strength so that I may do what is right. As depressing a fact as it is, I've witnessed that in this world, as in our home worlds, many see it in the way that 'might makes right'. Integrity is cast aside for personal gain and the consideration of others, be it the Alliance's treatment of the Horde or vice-versa, is thrown to the wayside in favor of old grudges and power struggles that could just as well be resolved through a sit-down talk. Then there are those as your Lich King, and the dark titan Sargeras who will have no manner of talk, those who create the absolute necessity to defend oneself and those around. That is my 'yes'..." Cygnus sighed, pausing for several seconds before continuing. "My 'no', however, is slightly more complicated, and slowly effecting all who came from our worlds."

Toru seemed to catch on rather quickly, looking to Cygnus with wide eyes. "You don't mean... Your aura-"

"Fading, much the same as your own and those of all others from our worlds. Soon the Lumerrians and Umbrians will be the only true relics from our worlds as their wings descend from generation to generation, but even they may wane and fade in time. I have power now, but it is unreliable and fleeting, and at any moment I could lose it, for several minutes or for the rest of my natural life." He looked to Toru. "I have no quarrel with you anymore, and with the separation between the Alliance and Horde, the lingering numbers of Umbrians and Lumerrians are of little consequence." He turned his gaze back to Benedictus, raising a hand and clenching his fist in a gesture of his own resolve, his expression calm. "However, I have found a certain distaste for the abominations of what you call the Scourge, their master, and the demonic beings of the Burning Legion that stripped us of our home world. That is why I come here, father. With your blessing, I wish to become a paladin and do my part to put an end to the ones who upset this world's peace."

Benedictus studied Cygnus in silence a moment, staring the other man straight in the eyes as he considered his words, gestures, everything that had just transpired in the last few moments. Benedictus shut his eyes, breathing out slowly before turning a sterner gaze to Cygnus. "You seem to speak the truth, and your resolve is admirable. However, the road to attaining command of the Light will be a much longer one for you than it will for the young lady." He said, waving his hand in a gesture to Tetra. "If you are serious in your ambition, though, head into the room at the western wing of the cathedral. Lord Grayson Shadowbreaker will ultimately be the judge of your resolve, and your capability."

Cygnus offered a bow to Benedictus, looking him in the face as he rose again. "I will. Thank you." Cygnus turned his head to Desirei, who had been silent the entire time. "Desirei, continue with your own training. We'll rendezvous later this evening at the Blue Recluse. I'm counting on you."

"Of course." She said, smiling to him.

The elder Amian looked to Toru, a quite serious look on his face. "Were I you, Toru, if you want to continue being able to fight, I would pick a class to train under. It's my understanding that priests are fairly resilient when they can focus upon themselves, but quite vulnerable in a group without someone to act as their shield. Considering you love this woman, I would hope you're going to be pro-active in doing your own part to protect her as she is so adamant on doing the same for you." Cygnus turned after that, starting off towards the western room behind the pillars, ignoring the irritated sniff that Toru gave off as he left. He had much to prepare for and little time to do it.

* * *

"'I'd hope you're pro-active', that smug on of a bitch..." Toru muttered sorely as he exited the cathedral alongside Tetra, his hands buried deep into his pockets. "Maybe I should wait until his own aura drops out and then knock some teeth into the back of his head."

"He didn't seem like he was trying to start anything, Toru." Tetra said, clutching onto a sealed envelope as they began to descend the stairs together. "If he's even saying that our auras are fading too, on top of everyone else's assessment..."

Toru sighed, stopping and looking out over the square. "Yeah. Much as it burns me, he's got a point. I just hope the spell on my wings doesn't burn out too..."

"It oughtn't." Came the familiar voice of a particular redheaded woman, leaning into one of the recessions into the cathedral wall. Desirei stepped forward, her arms crossed loosely beneath her breasts as she approached the two of them. "You should have nothing to worry about, Toru. You'll still be able to hide your wings. I just doubt you'll be able to draw upon them as weapons anymore once the time comes."

"You have five seconds to respect my personal space bubble of a hundred yards before I rip your teeth out and mount them with that other dragon's head hanging at the gates." Toru snapped, glaring at Desirei. "What the hell are you waiting around here for? Don't tell me a twisted little snake like you wants to be a priestess too?"

"Hardly." Desirei said with a toothy grin, baring her fang-like canines to Toru. "No, I'm quite content walking the path of a warlock. I simply thought you could use a recommendation."

"Desirei, just leave." Tetra said firmly, glaring at her.

"Aren't you supposed to be the open-minded, forgiving one?" Desirei quipped.

"Forgive me for having issues with women who kidnap me and try to extract my mortal soul from my body for a power up." Tetra remarked in a biting tone. "Is there a reason you're hanging around here?"

"Like I said, I thought I'd give a recommendation." Desirei said, her tone fairly nonchalant considering the animosity towards her. "You ought to look into the barracks in Old Town, boy. The warriors of this world specialize in weaponry like you use. You may be able to refine those haphazard swings of yours into something of actual threat to your opponents."

"Look, when I want your opinion I'll smack the taste out of your mouth and then calmly proceed to bleed it out of you." Toru said, starting down the stairs again. "What would you know anyways? Maybe I might want to be a paladin."

"... Toru, I'm sorry, but that was the most horrible lie I've ever heard you tell in the three and a half years we've been together." Tetra said with an awkward smile as she watched Toru seem to cringe a little bit under the weight of her remark.

"Let me break it down for you, boy." Desirei said, starting down the steps slowly, taking her time with each individual one. "You, my dear little Amian, are brash, hot-tempered and, while capable, not one to actively think things entirely through. You lack the patience required to be a rogue, a mage or a warlock. There's absolutely no way you could ever cooperate with nature enough to place yourself as a shaman or a druid, and you certainly lack any drive in faith to be a paladin or a priest, even one of the dark ones. I suppose you **could** be a death knight, though that would cost you your immortal soul, liberty, and you'd likely end up finding your girlfriend there at the other end of a runeblade one day." She stopped at the base of the steps, looking over her shoulder with a grin. "Really, what other options are left? I suppose a hunter, but, judging by the way you've shot before with your wings that would require a sense of hand-eye coordination as well."

"... I really hate you, you know that?" Toru said bitterly, an irritated grin on his face.

"Because I'm right and you're all too well aware of that." Desirei turned her back, waving over her shoulders. "By all means, do whatever you want. If you get yourself killed then all it means is I never have to deal with you again."

"Before you go," Toru said, heading down after Desirei and coming up behind her. "Why? You've never done anything but try and kill me or the people close to me, or blow up planets with that ancient idiot back in there. Am I going to get shot when I pass into Old Town or what?"

Desirei paused, her gaze set forward on the dried up fountain in the middle of the square and a few children playing around it from the orphanage nearby. She finally broke the silence with a sigh, looking over her shoulder with a serious expression. "You're no hero or anything to that extent, certainly no legendary chosen one or some stupid thing like you'd find in a book or a movie from back home. However, you do have power and a will to use it, the latter being something many lack. Perhaps this is something that rubbed off on me after centuries of hanging around a man obsessed with righting the wrongs around him, but the problems of this world are our own now. Whether you believe it or not, we live here now. If the Scourge, for instance, win, then that's the end. Your immortal soul belongs to their Lich King and your body, or what's left of it, will either feed his minions or be risen as a tool. You can do whatever you want, but I'd frankly rather not find myself a shambling corpse being led on dark magical strings." She started off again, heading to the southern passage to the canals. "I imagine you would live the rest of your life in regret if you were to find Tetra in that state. You might want to think about that."

Toru watched Desirei leave in silence, her words, much to his own surprise, weighing upon his mind. He stood there, considering for a few moments before a light touch at his hand broke him from his thoughts. He looked to his side, seeing Tetra gazing up at him with concern in her eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"... Yeah." Toru said, turning and taking her into a gentle embrace, leaning down and kissing her softly on the forehead. "Just a little blindsided by all that, that was all. Desirei and Cygnus can be pretty preachy, it's a lot to process."

Tetra smiled gently, nodding as she stepped back. "Understandable."

"You need to head to Northshire Abbey to start your training, right?"

Tetra nodded, holding the letter up. "Marshal McBride is supposed to have my first assignments, so, yes."

Toru started walking with her, her hand still in his own as they moved alongside one another. "... Think we can swing by Old Town really fast on the way out of Stormwind?"


	4. Trust

**Of War and Wings**

**Chapter Four**

**Trust**

Flare almost couldn't believe herself as she stared at Toru and Tetra on the bridge between the Old Town and Trade District. They had re-united after several hours of scouring the town to report their findings, to find on top of everything that the two were going to actually take formal training to learn how to fight in Azerothian styles. Tetra's choice alone had her astounded at first, though she had recalled some chats with the girl where she'd mentioned wanting to chip into their group's efforts in passing. Toru's decision though...

"There's absolutely **no** way you're gonna make it as a formally trained warrior." Flare said flatly, earning a glare from the Amian, already clutching onto a pair of black-handled, silver-bladed swords and a letter signed and sealed to be delivered to Northshire Abbey. "You don't have the patience or the discipline, do you know how long it took me to turn my hunting skills to combat ones back home in Starblaze?"

"Yeah, well, sorry I didn't grow up feeding off the fat of a frozen wasteland." Toru bit back, waving the letter in front of Flare's face. "Though I don't think they'd have given me this thing if it was a waste of their time, so obviously I've got something worth refining, eh?"

"Yeah, yeah, we'll see, big shot." She quipped back, setting her hand on her hip with a frown. "But what, you're just going to ditch us to do all the work while you run off and play hero?"

"Look, Ms. Personality, I'm gonna say this first, get the damned bug out of your ass." Toru snapped, leaning a little closer to Flare's face, a gesture she returned as she came within a few inches of his. "Just because your little brother's a punk doesn't give you extra excuse to be bitchier than the rest of us. Do you even remember how to smile, 'cause I haven't seen one since before we got here outta you."

"Oh, pardon me, you self-serving prick, while I just blow off all my problems and go dancing in the fields. I swear, I've got half the right mind to-"

"That's **enough**." Juno growled, grabbing the both of them by their shoulders and spinning them to face him, taking them both by the back of the neck and glaring back and forth between them, starting with Flare. "Your attitude has been worse than Toru's was at it's worst. Shape up or I'll make you." Juno's glare turned to Toru after that. "And you're doing no better antagonizing things. Do you want me to remind you why I always commanded the authority around the house back home?"

"N, no..." Toru stammered out, although still clearly irritated as Juno released he and Flare.

Flare sniffed, turning her head off to the side and crossing her arms. "I still stand by it, they're just ditching us..."

"Flare, that's not it at all." Tetra said with an almost pleading quality to her voice. "I talked to the Archbishop in the cathedral, and Toru talked to the trainers. There's a high demand for our work out there, apparently there's a huge shortage on people who can heal in Azeroth, and people willing to, uh... How best put it..."

"I'm **not** going to be one of those human shields." Toru said adamantly. "Yeah, there's a novel idea, I go out there and get the crap kicked out of me while everyone else attacks. Maybe if they'd have asked me four years ago I'd have considered it when I didn't think I'd live to see this age anyways..."

"... Yeah, that's actually a lot of the problem with why they're short on manpower in that department." Tetra said with an awkward smile. "But, there are always people looking for others to do work. I guess the best way to put it is we'd be kind of mercenaries."

"Not to mention it'll compensate for these unreliable abilities of ours." Toru said, pocketing the note and looking to Juno. "Hell, you're probably close enough to being a full-blown warrior here since you actually finished your formal training back home."

"The races here are, for the better part of things, human-like in nature." Juno said matter-of-factly. "The anatomies can't differ too much, even the Draenei and Tauren with their hooves still generally walk like the rest of us. A well placed slash and they go down just like anyone else."

"Considering what I've heard about the Forsaken you may want to make a practice of aiming for the throat." Toru said with a light grin and a cutting gesture across his own. "But yeah, we'll be raking in cash with odd jobs, and since it's probably going to involve a bit of travel I imagine we'll get the scope of this world a lot better that way, too."

Juno nodded, some approval on his features. "Fair enough, but be careful. I've heard around today that there are parts of Azeroth where the Legion is in small numbers, not to speak of that plague of undeath. I'd rather not have to remove **your** head, Toru."

"Yeah, no kidding." Toru remarked, looking up at the sky. "We'd better'd get going though. Tetra and I were hoping to make it there before nightfall, and it's getting pretty late in the day."

Juno nodded, looking at the sun overhead briefly before looking back to the two. "Then you'd better'd get going. Watch each other's backs on the road, too. I've heard there are some thugs between here and Westfall that won't hesitate to prey on travelers."

"There won't be for long if they try and mess with us." Toru remarked confidently, turning and starting off towards the Trade District, and from there, the gates of Stormwind. Tetra followed close behind after a smile and wave.

Flare sniffed, sitting down on the edge of the bridge and crossing one leg over the other. "So now what?"

"We've done enough for today, and Toru told us where the inn is in the Trade District." Juno said, starting to walk in the direction the Amian and his girlfriend headed off in. "Let's get a room, then we'll go over what we've figured out and what we'll do tomorrow. The sooner that we can bring everyone here and help get them situated, the better."

"Sure, why not...?" Flare responded, her tone more half-hearted now as she rose to her feet and began to follow after the dragon. She crossed her arms and cast her gaze to the stone bridge beneath her feet, clutching her arms so tightly it hurt. _Cygnus and Desirei are here... Skye and Dirge must be too... Damn it, it was so much easier thinking he was dead.

* * *

_

Late into the night, after dinner and discussing their plans, the two had resigned to bed, sharing out of necessity. Unlike the inns they'd seen back home, there were fewer rooms to be seen with normally only a single large bed to be spared between them. Juno didn't seem to mind, but Flare, combined with that and all other things on her mind, had found sleep out of her grasp. After perhaps an hour, when she was certain Juno was deep enough into sleep, she crept out of the bed and room, taking with her the pouches that contained her claws.

The streets were quiet, the greatest signs of life in the vermin that made their evening rounds and the guards that did much the same with lanterns in hand. Her coat and t-shirt were inside, leaving her in the black undershirt she wore beneath, baring to open view several scars that peaked out from beneath her arms and on her shoulders. She didn't care, she did grow up in a hunter's town after all. It was just natural to take damage.

It wasn't natural to abandon your kin though. She began to reminisce as she walked down the cobblestone road, strapping her pouches to her side and casting a glance now and then at the starlit sky overhead out the tops of her eyes. Starblaze was a town built around an ancient meteor crash site, the only place in a frozen wasteland that exuded a fire aura, and allowed flora to grow with the fauna. History dictated that her people were nomadic before that, and settled centuries ago around it. With time and enough generations, their auras changed too, eliminating any water auras all together and leaving the people with the ability to manipulate fire in its place. She was one of those people.

Her brother, however, was not. The first child with a water aura in probably a good few centuries, superstitious fear-mongering had nearly driven their family out of town. It was nothing less than a saving grace that the village elder was blessed with the good common sense to see that his birth was no 'sign from spirits' or anything ridiculous like that, just nature taking its course. Of course, that didn't stop the people, especially the other children, as cruel as they could be even to each other, from looking down on him, bullying him, treating him like an outsider.

She would never have taken that, and never did. She sat down on a stack of crates on the other side of the district, bending one leg up to her chest and leaning back against the wall as she thought about all the fights she got into to protect him. Idly, her fingers ran over a piece of blue cloth strapped around her wrist, ragged and worn.

"_Skye, this is for you."_ She could hear herself saying as she thought back to the tender age of eight, when she learned to sew like all girls did back home. She raised her wrist before her eyes, recalling how clean and carefully cut the cloth used to be. Hers was blue, Skye's was red. _"See? This way we can always be close! It's a... what's it, um... a momento, that's it!"_

_Damn, I was a stupid kid, didn't even get the name right._ She thought to herself, sitting forward as she dipped that same hand into her pocket, pulling out a metal case and drawing out a hand-wrapped cigarette, taking it between her lips. She'd only started smoking recently, after the Burning Legion first attacked Viarde, but it calmed her nerves, and with all in her life, she needed more stress like she needed a hole in her head. Striking the case against the stone wall behind her, a spark shot off of it, all she needed as she used her aura to ignite it into a small flame. She willed it to the end of her cigarette, and took a long drag off of it, blowing the smoke out of her nostrils as she let the fire hover before her.

It flickered out on its own several seconds later, causing her to frown a little as she was reminded of their newest problem in the unreliability of their auras.

"Pain in the ass, that's what it is..." she muttered to no one out of one corner of her mouth. She reached up, setting a hand over her eyes as she tried to push back the memories, of how she stood by him, fought for him, loved him like a sister should love her brother... And scowled bitterly as she even thought of his betrayal. She finally stood up, growing restless and shaking her head as she took the cigarette between her index and middle fingers and tapped the ashes off of it before returning it between her lips. It was going to be a long night, and she'd either fall asleep partway through it, or need to find the nearest tobacco peddler in short order.

Before she could dwell for too long, she heard something, her eyes widening as she glanced out the corners of her eyes, careful not to move her head. A pebble bounced along the street. It seemed harmless enough, though the problem lay in that there wasn't a soul visible, man or animal, that could have done it.

She turned casually, starting on a slow walk as she eyed what was the pebble's path before it came to a rest. Taking another drag off her cigarette, she withdrew it from her mouth and blew a thin veil of smoke out. She watched it, her expression lapsing to boredom, only to catch sight of some of the smoke parting off in the direction of the square. It didn't take long to put two and two together, someone was sneaking around, and that late at night it normally meant nothing good. Good common sense told her to just leave well enough alone and go back to her thoughts.

The subject of her thoughts succeeded in getting her to tell good common sense to go jump in a lake. Instead, she focused on finding a way to ensure she didn't lose track of her target. No doubt one of those rogues she'd learned about, stealth was their specialty. She needed a way to track it without drawing too much attention. The quickest answer she could think of made her frown slightly, but it provided an option. Taking hold of her cigarette, she bit down hard and tore a piece off, shuddering at the taste. She'd have to rely on an old hunter's trick she learned with some modifications. Focusing her aura into the piece of the cigarette butt in her mouth, she invested a little of her energy into it, took a breath, and then spit. She watched it fly through the air, and stick to something only barely visible near the ground, lifting slightly before it faded from sight.

_Just like sticking a dart to the prey back home, just hope it doesn't fall off._ She thought, pulling her cigarette out of her mouth as she followed her own aura's sensation moving across the district at a slow pace. She might've used an actual dart, had whatever was creeping had the thick, armor-like skin some of the creatures back home did, but this would have to do. She stuck her tongue out bitterly and rolled her cigarette closed again. "God awful taste though..." she muttered, beginning to walk at a pace that matched the movement of the rogue now that there was enough space between them.

Her subject led her out of the Trade District and a long ways around the canals. She stopped once or twice along the way, fearing she might have been drawing too much attention to herself and swiftly ducking behind beams or carts along the way. After a short while, she found them leaving the stone-laden grounds to more plush, grassy ones. They were in the Mage Quarter. It was but a few moments later, after a few more turns along the path, that she watched the rogue actually drop his stealthy veil. Even so heavily clad in leathers, judging by the hulking physique and the hunched posture, not to speak of those blood red eyes that seemed to bear their own luminescence in the moonlit evening, it was an orc.

_Horde in an Alliance city._ She thought as the Orc walked into the tavern after glancing over his shoulders a few times, breaking into a sprint towards the doorway. _Now doesn't that just reek of good news?_ She leapt up onto the stone pathway, out of line of sight of the door, and looked up at the sign above. The Slaughtered Lamb, not exactly the most appealing name for a place to get a drink as far as she was concerned, but she'd worry about the aesthetics of the place later. She edged towards the doorway against the wall, pulling her hair back and holding it behind her head as she peeked inside.

"Good of you to join us, Grun." A man with black hair and an eye patch remarked to the orc as he approached a table at the darkest corner of the tavern. Sitting beside him was a dwarf, also in leathers, with two particularly vicious daggers hanging at his hips. Also dressed in leathers, there were no discerning traits of individuality that she could pick out from the distance as the man continued to speak to the hulking figure. "I was beginning to wonder if you would show."

"There were some complications." Grun responded, taking a seat at the table, even in that way still towering over the other two figures.

"Very well. Let's get started then, shall we?" the eye-patched man said, clasping his hands together on the table.

From there, Flare was simply standing, straining to listen in on exactly what may or may not have been spoken of, and coming up short. She silently cursed under her breath, clenching her fists at her sides and repeatedly taking looks out the corner of her eyes to the grassy path. The guards didn't seem to pass in the way of the tavern's part of the quarter, if at all.

"Maybe I ought to go find one and let one in on this..." she muttered to herself after a half hour, in a tone barely audible to even her own ears. She nodded, turning and beginning to walk back the way she came. If the Stormwind guard came, they could properly interrogate, probably unravel a plan that had the potential to bring upset to the human nation. She couldn't do anything alone, her abilities as unreliable as they were, what choice did she have? It was only after a few steps that she found herself stopped suddenly, a hand came up over her mouth, and something sharp was jabbed against her back, a muffled yelp of surprise silenced by the leather-clad limb.

"Don't move." A woman's voice spoke to her in a soft, but nonetheless threatening tone. It wasn't a second after that Flare felt the jabbing sensation in her back leave, only to return as the woman wrapped an arm around her neck, and pressed the blade of her weapon to the side of her throat. "Make so much as a sound and I'll see that you never get to make another." She handed the weapon off into the same one looped around her throat, and drew the empty hand out of sight. Flare heard something rustling behind her, and before she knew it, her arms were pulled back behind her, and tightly cinched together at the wrist, flexing her hands as her binds were set to stimulate some blood flow into them. It wasn't a second later that she was grabbed by her wrists and jerked around, and escorted back to the bar entrance she'd just started away from. They entered, and the next thing she knew, she was airborne, albeit briefly, as she was roughly shoved forward, slamming down on the floorboards with a grunt and wheeze as the air rushed out of her lungs.

"Good job, Elise." The man with the eye patch announced as he rose from his seat, walking around the table he was sitting at and approaching Flare. "I thought there was a rat scurrying about, it seems as though we've caught her." The man knelt down before Flare, grabbing her up by her hair and pulling her up to gaze at her. "We can do this one of two ways, young lady. Tell us why you were sneaking around, or we can 'interrogate' you."

Flare grit her teeth in some pain, glaring defiantly at the man. "Speak for yourself and the orc you're keeping company with." Flare bit back in a defiant tone, looking the man dead in his good eye. "Last I heard, Wrynn didn't take so kindly to the Horde in his city. What exactly is it **you're** up to, huh, patch?"

This seemed to spark some intrigue in the man's features, but his expression remained mostly reserved. "Sit her up, Elise." The man ordered, turning and heading back to the table. "She'll be dealt with properly when we return to SI:7."

"Hey!" Flare snapped loudly, earning all of their attentions, even the bar keeper's, who, up to this point, seemed to have been turning a blind eye to everything. "Just who the hell are you, talking like you're so damned hot? Maybe you didn't realize it, but plotting with a damned O-" She was stopped cold, her eyes widening as she felt a swift, brief impact to the back of her head. The next thing Flare knew, she was falling towards the floor, and all went black.

* * *

The next sensation she registered was something cold and wet. She coughed and sputtered, her head throbbing as she came around. She could make out voices after a second or two as she began to fully come around. She groaned, spitting a few sopping wet strands of her hair off her lips before looking up, seeing before her a man standing before her, different than the last one she had been looking at. In fact, the entire place had changed, from a tavern to a stone-walled room with stairs leading up on the other side. The man had brown hair and eyes, and was dressed in black leathers from shoulder to toe. She tried to pull forward, but found her arms tied to the back of the chair she was seated in with sturdy rope.

"I see that our extra set of eyes has finally woken up." He said, his tone cold as the water, at least Flare assumed it was, that she'd been splashed with. "You're brave, if nothing else, girl."

"Wh, who are you...?" she muttered out, squeezing her eyes shut from a flash of pain from the place she'd been struck before. She looked past the man, seeing the same woman from that time even standing there, holding the bucket that had no doubt carried what now soaked her flesh and clothes. "A… and where...?"

"Mathias Shaw." The man said, stepping forward and setting a hand on her forehead, making her look up at him. "Where we are, you don't need to concern yourself with that. Cooperate, though, and we may see where that leads us in what happens to you. I'd like to know what you were doing last night, tracking the trio in the Slaughtered Lamb, and just what your intentions were."

"Cooperate...?" Flare breathed, now nearly completely together, donning a glare at the man. "For a man who was sneaking Horde into an Alliance city, you're pretty casual with name drops and things like that, and you have a lot of nerve..."

"So you won't cooperate." Mathias state, earning a dismissive sniff from the dark-skinned girl. He turned quietly, clasping his hands together behind his back as he headed for the stairs. "You do of course understand you can't simply be allowed to leave. I'll give you a little time to think about what your situation entails exactly. After all, I can't promise your safety should you refuse to divulge information to us. Get comfortable, young lady, or don't, but I trust you understand with that attitude, you'll be down here for a long while."

Flare watched Mathias and the woman with him leave in silence after that. If it wasn't already obvious, her presence only confirmed to her that this man had links to the other in the tavern. In all good sense, cooperation was the best option for her well being at face value. It might even get her to walk free to a certain extent, at least enough to break off into a good sprint and escape. Still, she had an outstanding stubbornness on right and wrong, and as she knew it, whatever the Horde was doing in an Alliance city was all wrong. No doubt if she stayed, they might try to persuade her with force, torture even. Ultimately, if she withheld through it all, there would be the final route of death, if only to silence her and ensure that whatever they were doing never saw the light of day.

That, though, would require that she stay put. She took a good look around the room, ensuring she was entirely alone before turning her gaze to a torch on the far wall. A light red glow lit around her body, faint and only just covering her frame, but enough to be noticeable. She focused on the torch for a few seconds, watching the flames before acting. A spark shot out of the greater flame, blazing across the room towards her seat. It arched up sharply as it came upon her, shooting up towards the ceiling before shooting down in a thin blazing trail, straight through her bindings. She pulled her arms forward swiftly, unwrapping the remainders of the ropes from her wrists and beginning to rub them where they were.

_That's one problem solved._ She thought, leaning forward and looking around the room. _How do I get out of here though? This might be their headquarters, if I'm caught, they might figure out how I freed myself, and that'd make things even worse._ She rose from the chair and walked towards one of the walls where several crates were stacked up. She noted one was cracked open, and took that as invitation enough to push the lid back. Weapons were inside, of all kinds. Swords, daggers, maces, axes, it was certainly an impressive collection of tools. This brought to mind her own weapons, and as she looked to her hips, she was more disappointed than she felt she should have been. _Of course they'd take them. A pair of gloves with claws for fingers, leaving those is asking for trouble._ She sighed silently, cursing her understanding of the good sense they had.

Intent on making her escape regardless, she reached into the crate, carefully sifting through the weapons, making her best efforts to remain quiet with the clinking of metals and stones being shifted through the box. As she dug, she eyed a pair of weapons joined by a leather strap, raising an eyebrow as she shifted the surrounding contents further and pulled them out. She held in her hand a pair of fighting claws, very different than her own. Rather than the individual fingers, there were two, red talon-like blades extending out off the back of the hand. She could already imagine some of the awkwardness she'd face using them, but she'd have to cope. The kind of fortune it took to come across these in her current predicament at all far outweighed the unfamiliar variation of her favored tools.

She started towards the stairs, slipping the claws on as she moved in silence, using her training as a huntress from back home. She'd gotten the drop on more than her own fair of stealthy predators, so sneaking past her captors shouldn't have been too great of a task. She approached the wooden steps, lightly setting her foot down on each one, ascending slowly towards a wooden door in the ceiling. It became quickly clear she was in some kind of cellar.

She crouched low under the door, pressing her forearm against it and raising it slowly, just a crack enough to see where she was. A stone floor spread out in the room before her, more crates and barrels were visible as well. Much to her delight, there was no sign of movement. That was quick to change, as she heard something moving quickly from further up, and drawing closer. She shut the door, backing off from it and readying herself, just in time to see it fly up and open. Before her eyes sat the same woman from the night before, who'd restrained her, and if she guessed right, was responsible for her unconsciousness.

"You." She hissed.

"Me." Flare growled in response, quickly striking the claws together and springing back down the stairs backwards, an action that seemed to puzzle the woman. That suited her just fine as her aura erupted around her, feeding furiously into the sparks she'd just created. The tiny sparks combusted suddenly into a full-blown explosion, shattering the door and blowing her would-be opponent away with a pained cry, followed by a loud, metallic clatter. Flare landed on her hands and feet at the base of the stairs, looking down to the claws with a smirk. _Okay, _kind_ of works._

She knew she didn't have time to waste though. Sprinting up the stairs as quickly as she could, she looked around, finding herself in what looked to be a basement above the basement. A gnome nearby had been knocked unconscious and sported a rather large bump on his head, looking like he took the blow from a piece of the hidden door that had been utterly wrecked in the explosion. Looking towards the back of the room, she could see the door, and what they'd done. It was a thick piece of wood bolted to metal grating, painted to look like a sewer ran beneath. The room must have seen few visitors from outside this group she'd run afoul of, so such simple camouflage no doubt proved adequate for that. Sitting slumped in a corner was the woman, unconscious, burned a few places and groaning in quite a lot of pain.

"Pardon me for having little sympathy..." she muttered, running over to her and grabbing her quickly. She could already hear footsteps overhead, that boom she'd made certainly didn't go unnoticed. She hurried and dragged her into a tiny space behind a row of barrels, crouching down as low as she could and pulling the woman tight into the space, holding a hand over her mouth to muffle any other groans of pain the woman might have made.

"What was that explosion?" an alarmed man's voice exclaimed as his feet came off the steps and onto the stony floor.

"Calm down!" a more familiar voice barked off the bat, clearly allowing absolutely no leeway for any kind of alarm. It took Flare a second to place it, but she recognized it to be that man, Mathias Shaw. "By the looks of things I'd say that girl's broken free. Treat Dr. Mixilpixil, make sure he's not seriously injured. The rest of you, start searching. I want a couple of you to head upstairs in case she managed to sneak by somehow. The rest of you turn this room and the storage room upside down if you have to, find her!"

Flare cursed herself in silence, wishing she'd gone with armed combat as opposed to an impulsive, quick-ending blast. The immediate threat had been taken care of, sure, but now she was in a much more complicated bind. It would only be a matter of time before Shaw's subordinates looked behind the barrels, and the game would be over right there. She had to think of something, anything that could better her odds. Biting down on her lip, she thought hard for a moment. From just those two uses of her aura, she could already tell how much more taxing it was to draw on those powers on this world, she'd do herself little good if she took them out and was still confronted with even more opponents up top, add to the exhaustion that may come with more explosions and the obvious attention they'd earn. She couldn't disappear like those rogues could, which made simply walking out unquestionable. More and more options presented themselves, and none of them had any great success odds behind them.

So when she heard footsteps approaching her barrels, she made with the only thing she could think of at the time, lacking any more time to plan. She hiked up the unconscious woman and laid as flat as she could, lying her out atop her. The head she saw poke out was a woman with lightly tanned skin and dark eyes, ash-black hair cinched back into a ponytail with black and brown leathers adorning her body. Her eyes widened in alarm.

"Elise!" she exclaimed, quickly rushing around the barrel and slipping in the side. It didn't take long for her to close in, and her eyes to widen as she saw just what was beneath the woman. "I've found-" She was cut off swiftly as something slammed into her solar plexus, her eyes bulging and mouth hanging open as she was thrown back off of Flare's foot with a fierce kick.

"Cyrdia!" another one of the nearby rogues exclaimed, rushing around quickly to meet Flare, only to find the weight of something pushed onto him. Elise's unconscious frame bowled him over and made him stumble back, giving Flare the room she needed to bolt out of the crack as quickly as she could, turning so sharply and so fast she had to kick off the wall nearby to keep from slamming into it. She made it to the stairs swiftly, and was almost to the top before something burst into existence behind her. Reflex took over, just from the instant provided by the sound, and she rolled to the side, turning about to face the opponent, only to see a faint flicker of Mathias' form before he vanished again.

_Is this Chaos?_ She thought, her eyes widening as he appeared at her side. She ducked a slash from a sword in his hand, lunging at him with her claws, only for him to vanish again. _No, I can't detect a bit of his aura at all. Is it pure speed? What the hell's going on?_ Somehow or other, she managed to get away with just little nicks and scratches from his weapons, though something about them hurt far more than they should have. A couple on her legs and a few more on her arms, however, didn't seem enough to make her stop and sweat over it. He finally came to a stop behind her, coming at her with a slash from above. Swiping across overhead, she deflected his weapon with the claw blades, before bringing the hand back across and crashing the blunt metal part against his face, knocking him back and down a few stairs with a pained grunt.

_Can't waste time here, I've gotta go!_ She thought, quickly turning and beginning to sprint again. Her eyes widened as she came to the top of the stairs, her legs freezing up on her, and arms doing much of the same, unable to brace herself as she toppled forward from the sudden motionlessness and crashed onto the wooden floor, her eyes wide and teeth grit. "W... what... is this...?"

"A paralytic." Mathias Shaw said as he walked calmly up the stairs, wiping a little blood off of his chin, not even wincing as he touched an already heavily bruising spot where she'd struck. "It'll come and go for the next few minutes, in the small doses you took in." He stopped, looming directly over her as he gazed down upon her. "You've caused quite a mess. I'm afraid you lack the self-control to get away from us."

Flare struggled to move, wanting to lash out at the man again, hamstring him perhaps and make a bolt for the door nearby, but the paralytic, the poison, it was working too well. She saw him move towards her, staring wide-eyed for a moment before squeezing her eyes shut.

She was completely taken off guard as she felt herself hefted to her feet, with the ease one might lift a child. Her eyes opened, seeing Mathias' hands on her waist, steadying her upright.

"We can refine that. Cyrdia."

"Y, yes sir!" the young woman from before stammered out, clearly fighting a little pain as she shot to attention halfway down the stairs.

"Get the anti-venom for this so our guest can move properly."

"Right away!"

Flare watched the young woman take off down the stairs as her head regained some mobility, and her other limbs began to slacken. She could understand what he was talking about, the periodic seizures of her movement entirely. She then looked past Mathias, watching another person dressed similarly to him rush by with what looked to be a priest.

"I imagine you must be very confused as to what's going on right now." Mathias said calmly.

"C... _confused_? I'm **completely** out of the damned loop here! What in the f... What's this about? First you cold cock me in the back of the head, then I wake up bound downstairs under interrogation, and, and then..." she felt the stiffening beginning to return, grimacing a little. Her blood was really pumping, she was, in perhaps one of the greater understatements of her life, very upset.

"Yes, well, scouting you wouldn't do very much good if we didn't know how you operated under stress. You're a bit volatile, but that can be fixed." Mathias crossed his arms, looking upon her. "Grun, the orc you were tracking last night, is one of our top moles within the Horde. He reports to us any particular happenings that we ought to know about. Political shifts, dissent, uprisings, those dirty kind of things that the good criers generally won't spread much word about. To report to us in any city at any given time, you must imagine that he has to be _very_ good at his job. That's where you come in."

Flare could barely move again, but was still listening attentively, as her eyes showed when they locked on his. She barely acknowledged the girl, Cyrdia, as she ran up with the anti-venom and began to treat her with it.

"Now, there are common tactics for revealing rogues' positions. A wide area attack or a flare will be one of the greatest give aways. However, you didn't unveil him to the public after I assume you noticed him, you kept your distance and followed him to us, pursuing a greater threat than simply 'kill the Orc'. As Trias told me, you were quite vocal about his presence in the city and believed our section to be agents for the Horde. Sounds like you're something of a patriot, for a girl who came out of that crazy world those weeks back." He must have read the surprise on her face, which only earned a smirk from him. "There's nothing about you that fits our world's culture, young lady. You're behind the Draenei as far as peoples who have joined our Alliance from some far off world."

"Then..." she managed, feeling herself limbering up as the antidote began to run its course. "All of that down there...?"

"As I said, I wanted to see how you operated under stress. You again proved your committal to the Alliance when you snapped at me like that."

"How do you know I wasn't lying?" she muttered, rotating her arm a little.

"You're temperamental and impatient, for one so skilled at tracking. You were very passionate down there." Mathias smirked a little bit. "Though you need to learn to be much more discreet and reign those emotions in."

"Flare!" a familiar, and clearly irritated voice, boomed out from beyond the doorway.

"And there's our other guest." Mathias said, watching with her as Juno rushed in, stopping alongside her and looking down to her with visible concern.

"What the hell happened last night?" he half-demanded, pausing before he took a breath, easing himself to calm down before looking hard down at her, but with concern clear in his every gesture. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah... I think." She muttered the last part, looking to Mathias and raising her visible eyebrow.

"My agents get around. You two took an audience with the king yesterday, so that put you especially high on our radar. It's not hard to forget a man as large as that, pale to boot, with a small, dark girl like yourself. Quite the contrast."

His musing didn't seem to entertain Juno at all, the disguised dragon sporting a scowl at Mathias. "Give me one reason I shouldn't tear this place down over your head for what your flunkies told me you were doing to my friend."

"Because I'm training your friend." Mathias said, his arms crossed, unwavering from Juno's intimidation attempt. "That is, if she wants to be trained."

"If I want to be?" she repeated, looking more than a little flabbergasted by just how he presented a choice to her after holding her against her will and pushing her into a fight all in the last several hours.

"Well, Lord Mathias can't force you to train with us." Cyrdia interjected, completing a wrapping over the last of her wounds with some violet cloth bandage. "No disrespect, but, if you were to be forced into training with us and refused to comply, you'd just be a hindrance."

"I..." Flare paused, looking around before a frown settled on her face again, quickly grabbing each of the clawed weapons still equipped over her hands and half throwing them to the floor. "Why would I want to train under people who just held me against my will and nearly _killed_ me? I'm out." She wasted no time after that, turning sharply in place and walking at a fever pace out of the building.

* * *

She didn't stop until she reached the fountain, now well aware of her surroundings, the region of Stormwind known as Old Town. She heaved a sigh and dropped onto the edge of the stone fixture, leaning forward with her arms propping herself upright on her legs. She was silent as death itself for a few moments.

"Flare." She heard Juno's voice call to her, looking to see him coming down the steps. In his hand he held the pouches with her gloves, the very ones she'd been liberated of. He tossed them to her casually, and she snatched them out of the air, holding them out, inspecting them as she felt the weight of her weapons inside.

"Thanks..." she muttered sourly.

"Don't thank me yet." He said, walking up next to her and standing over her. She noticed he had some kind of violet bag belted shut on his hip, appearing almost empty, the size of one of his hands, which about amounted to nearly the size of her own head. She watched him open it and slip the hand in effortlessly, and like beholding a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, he drew her coat and shirt out.

"H, how the-"

"It's a special kind of bag, call it Netherweave here. You can hold any item in here regardless of size, but only sixteen per bag."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Corpses walk around this world under a national banner, I'm not nearly as surprised by this." He handed them off to her, watching her as she pulled the shirt on and began to slide her coat on. "I think you should accept his offer."

"Ex_cuse_ me?" she asked, aghast of what he said as she rose to her feet. "I'm sorry, are you up to speed on what happened to me last night?"

"Completely, and how you blew your flames up in that woman's face, too. Shaw told me." She only grew more irate by that knowledge, but he looked unphazed. "You need this."

"I'm more than capable of fighting on my own, thanks! I don't need to go crawling to a bunch of-"

"You need teamwork." He said, cutting her off before she could get off whatever insult was ready to fly off her tongue. "You've been doing more and more on your own lately, ever since Skye betrayed us, and been fighting with everyone. You need to get your head out of your ass and get over it."

"Oh right, excuse me while I just wash that off my back. The person who I sacrificed _EVERYTHING_ for stabbing me in the back, who I stood up for his entire life turning to the people who were sworn to blow our moons out of orbit regardless of what effects it'd have had on our home, yeah Juno, I'm just being a bitch, you're right!"

"I didn't say that." He shot back, his own tone growing more stern.

"You might as well've!" she returned without missing a beat. "How do I know that you're all any different? Toru and Tetra sure didn't waste any time running off for their own little adventure, and what about-" She was stopped, feeling his hand clamp down on her shoulder and jerk her harshly, silencing her as she turned wide eyes up to him.

"Just because you're afraid of getting burned again by someone else doesn't give you any right to place is in the same position as that ungrateful little punk that you call a little brother." He growled, his grip tightening to a point it began to hurt.

The next thing she knew, before her brain could even register it, his head had turned, her hand ached, and a loud, slapping noise echoed through the district.

She stood in horror for a second, noting the surprise on even Juno's face as she stood there. She stepped back, slipping out of his grip. "J... Juno, I... I'm..."

"Forget it." He said after a pause, sighing and rubbing his cheek. "I stepped out of line too, apparently..."

"No, he... Skye is..." she didn't know what to say suddenly, her gaze falling to the ground.

"You loved Skye like a big sister should." Juno said, his words recognized by her ears as truth and earning a flinch. "You did give up everything, after those horrible things your parents said, to protect him. You can't be faulted for that, and I can't imagine the kind of hurt you must be going through knowing he's working with Desirei and Cygnus."

Flare could only nod.

"But you can't isolate yourself like this... You're like how Toru was, but instead of being afraid of getting someone hurt, you're afraid of being the one hurt again. 'How can I trust someone if the person I gave up everything for will betray me like that?', that's what you're thinking." He sighed, burying his hands into his pockets. "All I can tell you is that you know better, not everyone is like that. But you have to make the decision yourself on whether you believe that or not. I think training with them would be a good way to put things back into perspective for you, and get your temper back in check, too."

"And..." Flare muttered, raising her head enough to look him in the eye and no more. "What'll you be doing...?"

"I'm going to stay in Stormwind." He said. "We need to get homes for ourselves and our families. I'll be around and let you know where I am, but for the next few days I'm still going to be at the inn." He walked forward, setting a hand on her shoulder again, but this time far more gently. "Think about it... And come see me when you've made your choice."

Flare watched him leave after that, watching until he vanished around the bend, off in the direction of the Trade District. She stood there, losing track of time as she thought over what he said, considered and weighed everything. Skye had hurt her horribly, she couldn't just forget that, but...

She looked down at her weapons in her hands, standing in quiet contemplation for a moment or two longer before individually buckling them, allowing them to hang off her waist down at her hips, as they always had. Turning, she faced the white stone building ahead and started forward. Perhaps, just perhaps, if she couldn't forget, then she could at least do something constructive with her time rather than moping over it.


End file.
